Red Sox's Chaim Bloom Fuels Fire Regarding Tanner Houck Staying In Rotation

Boston's rotation needs its most reliable starter

Scott Neville | Apr 27, 2023

Red Sox's Chaim Bloom Fuels Fire Regarding Tanner Houck Staying In Rotation /

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Boston Red Sox

There's no doubt the Boston Red Sox's rotation is the group preventing them from climbing out of the basement of the American League East.

Boston's 6.41 Starter ERA is the second-worst in Major League Baseball. The only team they are better than is the historically awful Oakland Athletics.

The only serviceable starters thus far have been Tanner Houck (3-1, 4.50 ERA) and Nick Pivetta (1-1, 4.58 ERA). It would be assumed that those two would have guaranteed spots in a horrendous rotation but that is not necessarily the case.

Struggling veterans Chris Sale and Corey Kluber create a logjam in the rotation, and Garrett Whitlock needs more time to settle into a starting role. James Paxton's return could complicate things for one of the two -- though he's been horrendous for Triple-A Worcester while rehabbing.

The good news? The Red Sox front office could be coming around on Houck, who was initially expected to move back to the bullpen once everyone was healthy.

“I don’t know that it pays to look too far down the line but we have thought (Houck's) very capable (in the rotation),” Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told MassLive's Chris Cotillo earlier this week. “Obviously, he’s going to continue to get opportunity there."

Now, that quote was far from a season-long commitment but the right-hander has some job security for the time being. If he plays as he did in his first few starts, he'll have enough time to lock down a spot in the rotation.

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Published Apr 27, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu