Tanner Houck was dominant for the Red Sox in 2024. Last season, he was named an American League All-Star and had nine wins with a 3.12 ERA. According to Spotrac, Houck has one year of arbitration remaining on his contract, and after inking their ace Garrett Crochet to a multi-year extension, the team’s next order of business should be signing the home-grown Tanner Houck to a long-term contract.
Last season, Tanner was the ace of the team’s pitching staff, but after the offseason acquisitions of Crochet and Walker Buehler, he dropped to the number-three spot in the rotation.
While Tanner is the proverbial number-three starter this season, if signed to an extension, he might slot in right behind Crochet for the 2026 season. That'd give Boston a firm top of the rotation for years to come.
Tanner Houck, 83mph Frisbee Sweeper. 🥏 pic.twitter.com/l14mIMw7ju
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 3, 2025
Red Sox Must Re-Sign Tanner Houck After Garrett Crochet Contract
Before this year, Buehler signed a one-year, prove-it deal (with a mutual option in 2026) in an attempt to increase his potential value for the next off-season. If Walker were to leave in free agency, Tanner would presumably take over the second spot in the rotation.
The Red Sox would be smart to sign Houck to a long-term extension. After selecting Houck with their first-round pick in the 2017 MLB draft, he has improved every season and blossomed last year into a front-line starter. Signing Tanner to a long-term contract would help set a precedent for retaining home-grown players after their first contracts. Even though he is 28, and teams are reluctant to dish out long-term contracts to pitchers once they hit 30 years old, Houck has only been a full-time starting pitcher since 2023 and should have plenty of innings left in the tank.
In addition, because he was one of the best pitchers in the American League last season, the Red Sox front office should look to sign him long-term before he hits arbitration and potentially the open market.