The Boston Red Sox are officially on the field at spring training, and with camp open, the group has made a procedural roster move on Tuesday afternoon.

As noted by Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald, the Red Sox have placed starting pitcher Tanner Houck on the 60-day injured list as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. The roster spot was opened up in order to get Isiah Kiner-Falefa on the roster after he signed a one-year deal last week.

Now 30 years old, Kiner-Falefa is an eight-year veteran of the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Pittsburgh Pirates.

He won a Gold Glove with the Rangers in the COVID-shortened 2020 season and can play all over the diamond.

A career .262 hitter, he has 36 home runs and 100 stolen bases. He has four seasons of double-digit steals and he has double-digit doubles in each season he's played in, outside of the COVID season.

He helped the Blue Jays get to the World Series in 2025 and came this close to scoring the game winning run in Game 7 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

This is what we've been trying to figure out since the signing was reported, and the situation was made even more complicated by the recent trade acquisition of infielder Caleb Durbin. 

If Durbin plays third base and Marcelo Mayer plays second, then 'IKF' could end up serving as a platoon partner for the left-handed hitting Mayer.

Now 29 years old, Houck was a first-round pick of the Red Sox in the 2017 MLB Draft out of Missouri.

He made his major league debut in 2020, bouncing between the rotation and the bullpen for the first three seasons os his career, but he established himself as a starter in 2023.

In 2024, he made the All-Star Game, finishing at 9-10 with a 3.12 ERA in 30 starts. Unfortunately, he had a dreadful 2025, going 0-3 with an 8.04 ERA and undergoing Tommy John after just nine starts.

He's expected to miss most or all of this season and will return in full for 2027. That is his final year under contract before hitting free agency.

According to Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic, Red Sox pitchers Garrett Whitlock, Greg Weissert and Jovani Moran are throwing live BP sessions at spring training on Tuesday. All three are playing in the World Baseball Classic, leading to the early start.

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