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