The Boston Red Sox made notable pitching staff improvements over the offseason. The Red Sox traded for Garrett Crochet in one of the biggest trades of the offseason, and the Red Sox also signed Walker Buehler, who is looking to rebound after a rough 2024 season.
A returning cast member of Boston’s starting rotation is right-hander Tanner Houck. After multiple seasons of flipping back and forth between the bullpen and rotation without a dignified role — not to mention a few injury hiccups along the way — Houck had a career year in 2024. He was an American League All-Star and led the Red Sox pitching staff in several statistical categories.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s a great first step,” said Houck, via Ian Browne of MLB.com. “The job’s not done by any means … I know that last year was a great step forward in terms of my growth as a player, new career highs [in most categories] and everything, and I hope to do that again this year.”