Tanner Houck, who pitched as both a starter and a reliever for Boston this season, is done for the year and may need back surgery. Steven Senne/Associated Press
With his 2022 season almost assuredly over, Tanner Houck is likely to have back surgery to repair a disc issue.
Red Sox Manager Alex Cora said Thursday that there’s a “good chance” Houck’s season is over after the pitcher, who’s been shut down from baseball activities, saw a back specialist this week. They haven’t made a final decision on surgery, but will know more by Saturday.
“We got the results. The doctors are going to meet today and make a decision,” Cora said Friday. “There’s a good chance he might have surgery but we just want to make sure we go over the whole thing and this is the route that is the most beneficial for him. We’ll probably make a decision when they get here later on, probably tonight or we’ll know more (Saturday). There’s a big possibility he’ll have surgery.”
It’s unclear how long Houck would need to recover from surgery, but if that’s ultimately the route the Red Sox take, Cora said he believes he would be ready for the start of spring training in 2023.
Houck hasn’t pitched in a game since Aug. 2 before being placed on the injured list a week later. The back injury was initially expected to be short-term, but continued discomfort kept him out longer and forced further evaluation. Houck threw a bullpen last Saturday at Fenway. Less than a week later, he’s expected to need surgery.
It’s still unclear when and how Houck suffered the injury, He said in August that it had been nagging him for a while.
Assuming his season is over, Houck finished 2022 with a 3.15 ERA over 32 appearances (four starts) and became a late-inning weapon in Cora’s bullpen. He posted a 1.49 ERA after shifting to the bullpen full-time and recorded eight saves in nine opportunities. His role going into 2023 isn’t defined just yet, but with uncertainty looming over the starting rotation, his versatility will be valuable.
ERIC HOSMER (back) is still not progressing the way the Red Sox hoped, and they’ve shut down the first baseman from baseball activities. Hosmer, who was placed on the injured list on Aug. 23 with low back inflammation, started swinging the bat earlier this week but is still feeling discomfort.
“He started swinging the bat but bending over was bothering him so we stopped the baseball activities,” Cora said. “He’s getting treatment. We’ll see what happens in the upcoming days. For now, just stay away from swinging the bat and all that stuff.”
Without Hosmer, the Red Sox have been playing Bobby Dalbec, Franchy Cordero and Christian Arroyo at first base. Arroyo started at first for the second time on Friday and will continue to get the bulk of the playing time there as long as Hosmer is out.
Cora said they were planning to give Rafael Devers and Alex Verdugo the day off on Friday, but both stayed in the lineup.
“I told (bench coach) Will (Venable) to ask both of them and they were like, ‘No, we want to play,’ ” Cora said. “That’s the mindframe they’re in. Just keep playing until they say stop. That’s why you see Arroyo at first, Kiké (Hernandez) is going to play center and (Connor) Wong is catching. We’ll find ways to get everybody at-bats.”
NATHAN EOVALDI, who hasn’t pitched since Aug. 12 due to right shoulder and neck soreness, threw a bullpen of 25 to 30 pitches Friday at Fenway Park. After not progressing well earlier this week, it was a positive step. He’ll throw another bullpen early this week.
“I was just talking to him right now and he was like, ‘I felt a lot better than a few weeks ago,’” Cora said. “Trending in the right direction.”
ZACK KELLY, who made his major league debut this week, was placed on the paternity leave list Friday. He and his wife, Brittany, were expecting the birth of their first child. He can spend a maximum of three days on paternity leave.
Tyler Danish was recalled from Triple-A Worcester. The right-hander had a 4.02 ERA in 31 1/3 innings early this season before suffering a right forearm strain in early July. After a long rehab that included testing positive for COVID-19, Danish was activated early this week and optioned to Triple-A.
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