Red Sox Surprising All-Star Projected To Receive $4.5 Million Contract

A well-deserved pay bump for a breakout star

Sep 20, 2019; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; A detail view of Boston Red Sox hats and gloves at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images / Kim Klement-Imagn Images

As the Boston Red Sox contemplate adding starting pitchers, it's nice to know they have an All-Star around for a relatively low cost.

The Red Sox's 2024 rotation looked like a giant question mark, but 28-year-old Tanner Houck did wonders to stabilize the group for most of the season. In his first full season as a big-league starting pitcher, he also made his first All-Star team.

Houck wasn't even a part of some preseason rotation projections, but an injury to free-agent signing Lucas Giolito opened a spot for him, which he never relinquished. With a 3.12 ERA, Houck finished the season 11th among all qualified big-league starters.

Because Houck is still three years away from hitting free agency, he will go through arbitration for the first time in his career this winter. According to the latest projection, he appears to be in line for a sizable pay bump as a reward for his All-Star efforts.

MLB Trade Rumors projected on Tuesday night that Houck would make $4.5 million in 2025, a nice raise from his 2024 salary of $770,000. Houck is one of three arb-eligible players on the Red Sox, alongside Jarren Duran and Kutter Crawford.

An extra $3.7 million shouldn't put too much strain on the Red Sox's budget, especially given that lots of other teams have 10 or more players scheduled to hit arbitration this winter. Teams build pay raises for their young stars into their projections, and Houck is still a huge bargain for under $5 million.

Plus, the Red Sox have done a good job extending some of their other young stars, including starting pitcher Brayan Bello and center fielder/shortstop Ceddanne Rafaela. Those two may be getting paid over market value in the short-term, but in five years, they should both be steals.

All Houck needs to do now is prove his 2024 season was his new norm. If he comes delivers a similar stat line next year, he will set himself up for a far bigger pay raise the next time through arbitration. And that would make both sides happy, because the Red Sox need all the pitching help they can find.

More MLB: Red Sox 2018 World Champion, Gold Glover Gives His Take On Ceddanne Rafaela