Tanner Houck’s lost year for Red Sox ends with Tommy John surgery

Tanner Houck’s nightmare season officially came to an end on Saturday.

Shortly before Boston’s 7-3 win over the Astros on Saturday, Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced that Houck will undergo Tommy John surgery.

“Tanner’s going to have Tommy John surgery,” Cora told reporters during his pregame press conference. “He went to see Dr. [Keith] Meister there in Texas, and that was the recommendation.”

Houck, 29, has been on the injured list since May because of a right flexor pronator strain, and was transferred to the 60-day IL on Thursday after a failed rehab stint.

The right-hander was unable to replicate his success in 2024, going 0-3 with an abysmal 8.04 ERA through nine starts this season.

Last year, Houck pitched to a 3.12 ERA with 154 strikeouts in 178⅔ innings, earning him his first trip to the All-Star game.

Houck attempted to make a comeback earlier this season, but was only able to make five appearances between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester, going 1-3 with a 5.74 ERA across the two levels.

The St. Louis native was drafted by the Red Sox with the No. 24 overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft and has been in the majors since 2020.

Despite the season-ending injury, Cora remained confident that Houck would be able to make a successful return.

“Tough year for him, tough year for us,” Cora said. “But he’ll kill the rehab, he’ll do his job, and when he comes back, he’s going to be OK.”

Houck is now the third starting pitcher for Boston to be out for the season, with Hunter Dobbins tearing his ACL in July and Kutter Crawford undergoing season-ending surgery on his wrist in June.

Crawford’s injury happened off the field according to Cora, but the manager clarified that it was not “irresponsible.”

“It’s just an accident,” Cora told reporters at the time.

“It just sucks that it happened this way. I’m not going to get into it, but it wasn’t irresponsible.”