The Boston Red Sox have surged back into the playoff conversation of late. They only just had their 10-game win streak snapped and they look as dangerous as any team thanks in large part to hot months of July from Ceddanne Rafaela, Roman Anthony, and Wilyer Abreu.
This has Boston feeling more and more like a playoff contender, but they are likely going to have to navigate the second half of the 2025 season without Tanner Houck.
Houck was not pitching well to start the year, with an 8.04 ERA across nine starts before he went on the injured list with a flexor pronator strain that has kept him out since May. While it is always scary to see a pitcher with arm trouble early in a season, the Red Sox seemed hopeful Houck would be able to return this season assuming he rehab process was standard.
Unfortunately, hope for that normal rehab with Houck is now gone. Not only did the Red Sox have to pause Houck's rehab after a setback, but he is also in need of more medical tests done on his arm to see what the next steps even are.
Tanner Houck's setback in rehab feels like the last straw for his 2025 comeback with Red Sox
This is almost never good news for a pitcher's arm, and setbacks in rehab are equally ominous. Once elbows and flexor tendons start causing trouble multiple times in a given season, the odds of surgery go up in a hurry.
He has already missed multiple months with this injury and now he is going to be shut down for the foreseeable future (with the chance he can restart throwing at the end of August). If his scans come back clean and he can just get by with some rest, it is still going to be around two months for an official return to the rotation. Once he starts throwing, Boston would be extra careful with him and that certainly puts the regular season in jeopardy.
The Red Sox have survived until now without Houck, which is a good sign, but any potential run in the second half would be a lot easier if he was around for some added pitching depth. With Houck likely out, one wonders if Craig Breslow becomes a bit more aggressive at the trade deadline.