Inside The Red Sox

Young Red Sox Pitcher Reportedly Drawing 'Significant' Trade Interest

Boston could leverage a young talent to acquire a star

Scott Neville

Young Red Sox Pitcher Reportedly Drawing 'Significant' Trade Interest
Young Red Sox Pitcher Reportedly Drawing 'Significant' Trade Interest /
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Would the Boston Red Sox deal one of their young pitchers in a package for a star player?

It sounds like they haven't ruled the possibility out, as teams continue to call about a right-hander with an undefined role on the roster -- Tanner Houck.

While the Red Sox have not actively shopped Houck so far this winter, there has been a significant amount of trade interest in him, according to a baseball source," MassLive's Chris Cotillo wrote Wednesday. 

"The Red Sox are open to listening on their young starters because any significant trade -- including one for up-the-middle help -- would likely force the club to part with some of its pitching depth. It’s much more likely that Boston would be willing to trade Houck than someone like (Brayan) Bello or (Garrett) Whitlock."

Through parts of three seasons, Houck has posted a 3.02 ERA with a 164-to-52 strikeout-to-walk ratio, 1.12 WHIP and 150 ERA+ across 146 innings of work. 

The 26-year-old has never truly had a defined role -- with 20 starts and 33 relief appearances -- but has been productive as a starter, multi-inning reliever and closer.

Some have made the argument that Houck's lack of a defined role makes him somewhat dispensable. 

I'm not getting behind that line of reasoning. Boston has far too many question marks in both the starting rotation and bullpen to ship off a young pitcher who has yet to find a role he cannot thrive in. 

More MLB: Red Sox Sign Outfielder Away From Division Rival To Bolster Depth

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Scott Neville
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

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