BOSTON — Red Sox starter Tanner Houck will undergo Tommy John surgery, manager Alex Cora announced Saturday.
Boston initially placed the 29-year-old righty on the 15-day injured list May 14 with a right flexor pronator strain. On Thursday, the Sox transferred him to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster for trade addition Dustin May.
“We don’t have a date yet but he’s going to have (the surgery),” Cora said before Saturday’s game against the Houston Astros.
He’ll miss the rest of this season and his entire 2026 season is in doubt.
Houck, who was a 2024 American League All-Star, struggled in nine starts for Boston this year. He posted an 8.04 ERA (43 ⅔ innings, 39 earned runs) before landing on the injured list.
“Tough year for him,” Cora said. “Tough year for us. But he’ll kill the rehab. He’ll do his job and whenever he comes back, he’ll be OK.”
The 2017 first round draft pick underwent an MRI when he initially was placed on the IL. He attempted a rehab assignment but struggled to bounce back after starts. On July 1, he said he was still dealing with inflammation in the triceps.
He allowed 10 runs in 15 ⅔ innings (5.74 ERA) on 18 hits and six walks while striking out 15 over five rehab outings (four starts). Four of those five outings came with Worcester. One outing was with Double-A Portland.
Cora said he does not have the exact details of when the tear showed up on an MRI. He also had imaging done after being pulled off his rehab assignment July 21.
“I know that throughout the whole process, there were different opinions and that was the last one,” Cora said. “And Tanner decided to go with that one.”
Boston selected Houck 24th overall out of Mizzou in ‘17. He has a 3.97 ERA in 113 outings (80 starts) over six major league seasons (2020-25).
He posted a 2.54 ERA in 19 starts before the All-Star break in 2024. He then struggled some during the second half with a 4.23 ERA in 11 starts.
He spent time on the IL in 2023 with a facial fracture and lower back inflammation. But he had not previously spent any time on the IL in his major league career with an arm injury.
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