Tanner Houck’s spot in Red Sox rotation doesn’t always come with spot on Red Sox roster — and it’s costing him

BOSTON, MA - AUGUST 12: Tanner Houck #89 of the Boston Red Sox returns to the dugout after being pulled from the game in the sixth inning against the Tampa Bay Raysat Fenway Park on August 12, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
By Chad Jennings Aug 20, 2021 59


Tanner Houck has not pitched in a minor league game since July 10. He’s pitched nearly as many second-half innings as Eduardo Rodriguez while making only one less start. He has been, for all intents and purposes, a full-time member of the Red Sox major league rotation the past 34 days.

But he’s spent only half of those days on the actual major league roster. He’s earned half the major league pay and half the major league service time while the Red Sox effectively have had one extra player on their roster for more than a month.

“We’re very impressed with not only the way (Houck)’s going about his business between the lines,” manager Alex Cora said, “but (the way he’s handled) the whole up-and-down stuff, being the 27th man. It’s actually a very, quote-unquote, pleasant conversation (when he’s sent back down). Like, this is where we’re at. ‘OK, cool, just tell me when and where and I’ll pitch.’ He’s been amazing.”

It’s not been without sacrifice.

On Tuesday, Houck was recalled to start the first game of a doubleheader against the Yankees. He allowed two runs in four innings of a 5-3 loss and was optioned back to Triple A on Wednesday. It was his third one-day call-up of the month and fourth of the season. Because of upcoming off days, the Red Sox won’t need a fifth starter again until next Saturday, August 28, when Houck will be eligible to return and make his next start.

At that point, Houck will have spent the previous 43 days in the Red Sox rotation, but only 17 of those days on the actual roster. By taking advantage of off days and doubleheader loopholes, the Red Sox have maximized their daily roster with an extra reliever or bench player basically the entire month of August. Houck comes up when it’s his turn to start, but otherwise yields his spot to someone else. It’s sound roster management, but it’s come at a cost to Houck.

Like most rookies, Houck earns the big-league minimum, which is roughly $3,100 every day he’s in the majors. When he’s in the minors, he makes closer to $500 a day. That difference of $2,600 comes to about $44,000 of pre-tax money out of Houck’s pocket since the All-Star break.

There’s also the issue of service time. The new collective bargaining agreement might change all of this, but under the current rules, Houck will miss out on Super 2 status — and thus miss out on an extra year of arbitration — if he spends less than 80 days or so on the big league roster. So far, he’s spent only 23 days on the roster this season (five at the start of the season, one when he was called up for a doubleheader in April, and 17 more since the break) meaning he could stay active for the entire month of September, finish the season with 12 or 13 starts, and still not come close to that 80-day threshold.

As Cora suggested, the constant shuffling on and off the roster could be maddening for a player, but Houck does not appear bothered by his situation.

“You gotta kind of go out there and roll with the punches day by day and see what life brings you,” Houck said. “That’s how I live truly my whole life, is just taking these different opportunities whenever I have them and just trying to maximize from them. It’s been a long process of learning to do things that way, but in the long run I think it just helps me as an individual and I think it can help other people individually. Because it’s a lot better lifestyle, I believe, mentally to be like that.”

In his nine big league appearances — seven of them starts — Houck has pitched to a 3.12 ERA. He’s rarely worked deep into games but has been occasionally dominant with 46 strikeouts and seven walks in 34 2/3 innings. His performance has earned a semi-permanent role in the rotation without a remotely permanent spot on the roster, which was kind of the Red Sox plan all along, it’s just been thrust into overdrive due to scheduling quirks in the second half.

“They’ve been very forward about everything,” Houck said. “They’ve been great about the communication. They’ve told me since Day 1, ‘Hey you’re going to be a big part of this team,’ and I’ve said it since Day 1, ‘I don’t want to take anything away from this team. I only want to give.’”

Houck made the Red Sox Opening Day roster as a temporary replacement for Eduardo Rodriguez, and he likely would have made more than two first-half starts had he not spent more than a month on the minor-league injured list. The Red Sox brought him back to the big leagues to form a six-man rotation immediately after the All-Star break, and that’s when his day-to-day assignment turned truly erratic.

July 16 – Recalled to the majors. Houck and Jarren Duran were each added to the roster the day after the All-Star break. Houck made one relief appearance on July 16, started a game on the 22nd, and started the second game of a doubleheader on the 28th. He as active for nearly two weeks, his longest stint of the year.
July 29 – Optioned to Triple A. With an off-day coming up, the Red Sox could go nine days without needing Houck to make another start, so he was sent down when Hirokazu Sawamura came off the IL Rather than actually rejoin the Triple-A rotation, Houck threw live batting practice in Detroit to stay on schedule.
August 7 – Recalled to the majors. By rule, optioned pitchers must stay in the minors 15 days before being recalled, but that rule is suspended for doubleheaders. Anyone can serve as the 27th man, so Houck was recalled to start Game 2 of a doubleheader in Toronto.
August 8 – Optioned to Triple A. Because he had not spent enough time in the minors, Houck had to go back down after his doubleheader start.
August 12 – Recalled to the majors. On the day he was eligible to return, Houck was called up to make his next scheduled start against the Rays.
August 13 – Optioned to Triple A. With three off days in the next week and a half, plus another doubleheader coming up, the Red Sox optioned Houck again and used his roster spot to activate Alex Verdugo from the paternity list.
Tuesday – Recalled to the majors. Using the 27th-man rule, Houck was recalled to start the first game of the doubleheader at Yankee Stadium.
Wednesday – Optioned to Triple A. Because Houck hadn’t spent 15 days in the minors, he had to be optioned back unless someone was hurt. With two more off days in the next week and a half, the Red Sox won’t need a fifth starter again until August 28, at which point, Houck will be eligible to return.

This sort of roster manipulation is not atypical, but the recent off days and doubleheaders did allow for a more extreme series of moves. There was no immediate financial benefit to the Red Sox (instead of paying Houck, they’ve been paying an extra reliever or bench player) and the short-term upside was clear (every manager wants an extra player when he can get it). A cynic might call it service-time manipulation, but roster management might be closer to the truth. And anyway, Houck just calls it the opportunity in front of him.

“Every time I get my number called, I plan on stepping up and rising to the occasion, no matter what the circumstances are,” he said. “I could get frustrated with it, but that’s not going to help anyone. I think it’s more mentally taxing on you if that’s the way you go about things. If you kind of go about it as, all right, it doesn’t matter where I’m at as long as I go out there and compete, I go out there every day and do the little things that matter – I mean, it truly doesn’t matter where you are.”

8 players now on the covid list

Went to the Sea Dogs game yesterday.

Bello had some nice stuff for about 3 innings.

Casas had an awful day defensively. Nearly cost them the game.

Missed Groome by a day, he was feeling it this afternoon:

I look at this remaining schedule and it's hard to see how they dont make the playoffs, but on the other hand, I dont believe in this team at all.