The future was undecided for Boston Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck following the 2023 campaign.
There were legitimate discussions around the organization and fan base about whether Houck was destined to be a starter or reliever for the remainder of his career.
However, two months into the 2024 season, it feels crazy that the question was ever posed. Houck has posted a 2.17 ERA (tied for ninth in baseball) and a 1.02 WHIP (17th) in his nine starts to start the year.
With the Red Sox playing in his home city of St. Louis, Missouri over the weekend, Houck spoke with Mass Live's Chris Cotillo about his path and his future, including a possible extension down the line.
“(We had) discussions,” Houck said (via. MassLive), “but we’re at where we are now. I put that behind me whenever we shook hands and said, ‘Let’s go out and win as many games as we can.’ The business side is the business side. If you go out there and throw 200 innings and make 30 quality starts, it’ll take care of itself.
“I try not to worry about that stuff. I know that it can be a hot topic, but ultimately if I’m worried about the business side and stuff off the field, that’s taking away from my focus of stuff on the field and the stuff that will get you to that goal. I understand that if I go out there and I do what I know I can do, it’ll potentially happen.”
Boston has never been the team to go out and get deals done early with their players who still have years of team control left, but that narrative seems to be changing with Craig Breslow in as the team's chief baseball officer.
In recent months, the Red Sox have come to agreements with Brayan Bello and Ceddanne Rafaela who are both fresh faces at the MLB level.
If Houck keeps delivering similar results, he'll be locked up with a new deal before long. He's already saying all of the right things.
“I hope to make the city just as proud as people like that,” Houck said. “I know it’s large shoes to fill, but I think that’s what you want from a fan base.”
That's the type of emotion and attitude the fan base wants to hear.
