After making two rehab appearances in Double-A Portland last week, Boston Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck will shift to Triple-A Worcester as he continues to work his way back from August 2025 Tommy John surgery, with the goal of contributing to the 2026 roster in any way he can. If the now-30-year-old right-hander is able to make it back to a big-league mound before the conclusion of the regular season, how will Boston deploy him? Houck met with the media at Fenway Park this weekend and offered some insight into the plan. 

“Three innings out of the pen is a little more appealing than just being a one-inning, limited-pitch-count guy,” Houck told the media, including WEEI and Baseball Isn’t Boring’s Rob Bradford. “If I can get built up for 40-50 pitches and help out in any way, then that’s a lot easier role and a Swiss Army knife kind of a pitcher,” he continued. 

Houck expressed his comfort level in his ability to work in a relief role because he’s done it before: “In one year I’ve started long relief, middle relief, and closed. So I've checked all the boxes of pitching in high-leverage situations: men on, no one on, starting games. Any role that I can step in and help this team win, I’m in for it.”

Like most pitchers returning from Tommy John surgery, Houck struggled with command in his first appearance, walking two and throwing a wild pitch during 0.2 innings of work on Sept. 8. “I was a little amped,” Houck said of his first appearance. 

His second appearance on Friday was much better, though, as he allowed one earned run on one hit while walking one and striking out four over three innings, building his pitch count up to 48 in the process. 

Houck’s ability to return to Boston before the end of the regular season will largely depend on his appearances in Worcester in the coming week and how his arm responds to them. He’ll make his first appearance with the WooSox on Tuesday, where, like his first appearance, he’ll be on a pitch count of around 20 pitches. Then, if all goes well, he’ll make another appearance on Saturday, stretching out to 40-50 pitches, before potentially rejoining Boston for the final home stand of the regular season. 

However, concerns about what exactly Houck can provide are more than valid. The last time he was seen on a big-league mound, he allowed 11 earned runs on 9 hits in only 2.1 innings against the Detroit Tigers. Overall, Houck posted an 8.09 ERA in 43.1 innings across nine starts, with opposing batters hitting .318 against him, particularly struggling with the home run ball, allowing 2.06 homers per nine innings. 

Despite the rocky numbers the last time he was seen in a Red Sox uniform, Houck has proved himself as a more-than-capable reliever in the early stages of his career. In 33 appearances in relief, he posted a 2.68 ERA across 53 innings of work, holding batters to just a .206 batting average. In 12 appearances in a save situation, he's allowed only three earned runs on nine hits across 16 innings pitched, locking down nine career saves.

It’ll be a small window of opportunity for Houck to prove himself in a return to the big leagues. If he’s activated at some point next week, he’ll have only a handful of games to earn a spot on the postseason roster. But, at minimum, he presents interim manager Chad Tracy with a major-league-caliber arm to deploy as he rests key pitchers for the playoff run. However, should he look good enough to earn a spot on the roster, he could become an incredibly valuable weapon for Tracy to deploy in October. 

After an off day on Monday, the Red Sox will open up a three-game set with the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park on Tuesday night. Patrick Sandoval (1-5, 4.58 ERA) will get the start for Boston while Texas has yet to name its starter. First pitch is set for 8:05 p.m. ET.