How Red Sox’s Tanner Houck Responded To Crushing Injury News

It will be quite a while before Tanner Houck toes the rubber again.

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced Saturday that Houck will undergo Tommy John surgery. The starting pitcher will miss the rest of the season and likely most, if not the entire 2026 campaign.

Houck discussed the tough blow before Sunday morning’s game against the Houston Astros, per MassLive’s Christopher Smith.

“It’s unfortunate,” Houck said. “It sucks. It’s a fun team to watch. It’s a fun team to be around. And just knowing I’m not going to be a part of it for the rest of the year, it’s hard. But I know I’ll bounce back better from this. I trust the medical staff here. I trust everyone. Got a great team around me that will help support me.”

Houck went on the injured list with a right flexor pronator strain in May. The 29-year-old made five minor-league rehab appearances before getting shut down indefinitely with a setback.

Houck said an MRI undergone after his rehab outings revealed “significantly worse” damage than the one done when initially sidelined.

“It showed it got worse, definitely,” Houck said. “Flexor was torn a good bit. But just didn’t feel right throwing, didn’t feel normal. Kind of the way that I operate at a high whippy volume. Just never really felt like it got back to normal.”

The 2024 All-Star ultimately opted against alternatives to Tommy John surgery like PRP treatment and stem cell therapy, feeling those paths were “delaying the inevitable” of a procedure he’d eventually need.

“I want to pitch for another 10 years, 10-plus years,” Houck said. “And looking at a longevity standpoint, this is just the road that we decided to take.”

Houck will go under the knife this week. The typical recovery time is at least 12 months, so Houck hopes to return at some point late in the 2026 season. He’s taking solace in Red Sox teammates Lucas Giolito and Garrett Whitlock returning strong from significant elbow injuries.

“Look at what they’ve done this year, it’s incredible,” Houck said. “So it’s just about trusting day-to-day work. It’s gonna be long, it’s gonna be hard, but I’m ready for it. I’ve made peace with it myself.”