Tag: tanner houck

Red Sox add Travis Shaw to major-league roster, option Franchy Cordero and Connor Wong to Triple-A Worcester, release Marwin Gonzalez

Ahead of their three-game series against the Yankees that begins in the Bronx on Tuesday, the Red Sox made a series of roster moves during their day off on Monday.

First off, infielder Travis Shaw was added to Boston’s major-league roster, while both outfielder Franchy Cordero and catcher Connor Wong were optioned to Triple-A Worcester.

Secondly, utility man Marwin Gonzalez was released after he was designated for assignment on Friday, the club announced earlier Monday night.

Shaw was claimed off outright waivers by the Sox from the Brewers on Sunday and was promptly added to Boston’s 40-man roster since they had an open spot after placing left-handed reliever Josh Taylor on the COVID-19 related injured list that same day.

The Red Sox originally selected Shaw in the ninth round of the 2011 amateur draft out of Kent State University, and the left-handed hitter spent the first two seasons of his major-league career (2015-2016) with Boston before being traded to Milwaukee in December 2016.

After bouncing around between the Brewers, Blue Jays, and Brewers again, Shaw was ultimately placed on outright waivers by Milwaukee this past weekend.

The left-handed hitter had slashed .191/.279/.337 with eight doubles, six home runs, 28 RBI, 14 runs scored, 19 walks, and 51 strikeouts across 56 games (202 plate appearances) with the Brewers this season prior to dislocating his left shoulder in early June.

Sent out on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Nashville on July 27, Shaw hit .273/.415/.485 with two home runs and eight RBI over 11 games (41 plate appearances) with the Sounds before losing his spot on Milwaukee’s 40-man roster.

In claiming the 31-year-old off waivers, the Red Sox add another left-handed power bat to the mix that has proven capable of playing first base, second base, and third base over the course of his big-league career.

“He’s a good kid, he’s a good guy,” Sox manager Alex Cora said of Shaw on Sunday. “We’re going to use him the right way. I think he gives us more weapons to maneuver over nine innings. We can pinch-hit, we can platoon, we can do a lot of things with him. Looking forward to seeing him and start working with him.”

A noted fan of former Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James, Shaw — a native of Ohio — will don the No. 23 in his second stint with the Red Sox.

In order to make room for Shaw on the major-league roster, Boston only had to send down one player, but instead optioned two in Cordero and Wong.

Cordero, who was recalled from Worcester on July 22, appeared in 13 games during his second stint of the season with the Sox. Over the course of those 13 games in which he made starts at first base and in left field, the 26-year-old went 7-for-32 (.219) at the plate with seven singles, three runs scored, two walks, and 14 strikeouts.

Wong, meanwhile, was recalled from the WooSox on Sunday as part of the same series of moves that saw Taylor head to the COVID-19 related injured list.

The fact that Boston optioned the 25-year-old backstop back down to Worcester — and thus trimmed down their big-league roster to 25 players for the time being — would seem to indicate that they are hopeful that Taylor will be cleared to return to action on Tuesday, though that is no sure thing.

If Taylor were to be activated before Tuesday’s doubleheader, though, the Red Sox would need to clear a 40-man roster spot in order for him to be added back to the major-league squad.

In addition to the possibility of Boston getting Taylor back this week, they will also be adding right-hander Tanner Houck as the 27th man for Tuesday’s twin bill at Yankee Stadium.

Though Cora has yet to officially name starters for the upcoming doubleheader, the expectation seems to be that Houck will start one game while fellow righty Nathan Eovaldi will start the other.

Finally, we arrive at Gonzalez, who was released three days after being designated for assignment on Friday — at the same time Kyle Schwarber was activated from the injured list.

The versatile 32-year-old initially signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Sox back in late February, but never really found his footing at the plate with his new club.

Despite providing value as a switch-hitter who could play multiple defensive positions, Gonzalez hit just .202/.281/.285 with two home runs and 20 RBI in 77 games (271 plate appearances) with Boston prior to losing his roster spot.

(Picture of Travis Shaw: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox activate Alex Verdugo from paternity leave list, option Tanner Houck to Triple-A Worcester

In addition to activating first baseman/outfielder Kyle Schwarber from the injured list and designating utility man Marwin Gonzalez for assignment, the Red Sox also activated outfielder Alex Verdugo from the paternity leave list ahead of Friday night’s series opener against the Orioles at Fenway Park.

In order to make room for Verdugo on the 26-man roster, right-hander Tanner Houck, as expected, has been optioned to Triple-A Worcester, Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) earlier Friday afternoon.

Verdugo had been held out of action since last Sunday on account of being placed on the paternity list while the Red Sox were in Toronto.

The 25-year-old flew to Los Angeles for the birth of his son, A.J., and returned to Boston on Thursday night, though the Sox were forced to move him to the restricted list since he was away from the club for more than three days.

At the time he left the Red Sox to be with his family in Southern California, Verdugo was heating up at the plate, slashing a scorching .500/.500/.833 with three doubles, one home run, two RBI, and two runs scored over his last five games (20 plate appearances) dating back to August 4.

On the 2021 campaign — his second with the Sox — as a whole, the 6-foot, 192 pound left-handed hitter has posted a .278/.344/.428 slash line to go along with 24 doubles, one triple, 11 home runs, 41 RBI, 66 runs scored, five stolen bases, 38 walks, and 65 strikeouts across 105 total games (439 plate appearances) in which he has played all three outfield positions.

As he makes his return to the Red Sox for the first of three games against the Orioles, Verdugo will be starting in left field and batting out of the two-hole Friday night.

Houck, meanwhile, was optioned to Worcester to make room for Verdugo on the major-league roster, though his stay with the WooSox is expected to be temporary.

This is the case because, as Cora explained on Thursday, Houck will be back with the big-league club “soon.”

Put another way, the 25-year-old hurler made his last start for Boston in Thursday’s loss to the Rays. Assuming he remains on a normal schedule, he would be in line to pitch again on Tuesday, when the Red Sox will be taking on the Yankees in a split doubleheader against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

By optioning Houck to Worcester now, the Sox will be able to call him up as the 27th man for Tuesday’s twin bill in the Bronx and start him on regular rest.

Through eight appearances (six starts) across five stints with Boston so far this season, Houck has pitched to the tune of a 2.93 ERA and 1.84 FIP to go along with 44 strikeouts and just seven walks over 30 2/3 total innings of work dating back to April 3.

Tuesday would mark the third time this year Houck has served as the club’s 27th man for a doubleheader, as he previously started one of two games against the White Sox on April 18 and one of two games against the Blue Jays on August 7.

Update: The roster moves have been made official.

(Picture of Alex Verdugo: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox likely to option Tanner Houck to Triple-A Worcester; other roster moves appear to be on the horizon as well with returns of Chris Sale and Kyle Schwarber looming

The Red Sox are planning on optioning Tanner Houck to Triple-A Worcester, manager Alex Cora said following his team’s 8-1 loss to the Rays at Fenway Park on Thursday night.

Houck, who made his sixth start and eighth overall appearance for Boston in Thursday’s series finale, allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits and zero walks to go along with eight strikeouts over five-plus innings of work.

While it seemed as though Houck had become a permanent member of the Sox’ starting rotation with Garrett Richards and Martin Perez being moved to the bullpen, the right-hander will actually come off Boston’s major-league roster for the time being beginning on Friday.

That being said, Houck should still make his next start for the Red Sox as scheduled, as the club has an off day on Monday and a doubleheader against the Yankees on Tuesday that will allow for some roster flexibility.

Because Tuesday will feature a doubleheader between Boston and New York, the Sox would be able to call up Houck as their 27th man for the twin bill and start him on regular rest in one of the two games at Yankee Stadium.

In the interim, the Red Sox can option the 25-year-old hurler down to Worcester and, in turn, gain an extra arm in the bullpen or position player on the bench.

“He’ll be with us soon,” Cora said of Houck Thursday night. “We still have some flexibility in the roster in the upcoming days. That’s something we — Chaim [Bloom] and the group — are going to talk about after we’re done with you guys. He’s still contributing. He’ll contribute again soon with us. Let’s put it that way.”

As things currently stand, the Sox’ 26-man major-league roster is obviously at full capacity. However, a potential roster shakeup could be on the horizon depending on the statuses of certain players who were/are away from the team for different reasons.

Alex Verdugo, who was placed on the paternity list on Sunday, arrived in Boston from Los Angeles on Thursday. If the 25-year-old clears the necessary COVID-19 protocols, the plan is for him to be activated ahead of Friday’s series opener against the Orioles, per Cora.

Christian Vazquez, who was placed on the bereavement list on Wednesday, is expected to return to the Red Sox on Saturday, according to Cora. It seems likely optioning Connor Wong to Worcester would be the corresponding move to get the veteran backstop back on the big-league roster.

Kyle Schwarber, meanwhile, was slated to kick off a rehab assignment in Worcester on Thursday, but the WooSox’ game against the Syracuse Mets was postponed due to inclement weather.

Thursday’s rained-out contest will be made up as part of a single admission doubleheader at Polar Park on Friday night, though it is no sure thing Schwarber will partake.

That being the case because earlier Thursday, Cora revealed that the 28-year-old slugger could make his Red Sox debut “sooner rather than later.”

The Sox acquired Schwarber, who has been on the injured list with a right hamstring since July 3, from the Washington Nationals in exchange for pitching prospect Aldo Ramirez on the eve of the trade deadline — July 29.

Since that time, Schwarber has been working his way back and — despite a minor setback on account of some groin tightness — has been getting work in at a relatively new position in first base.

Prior to injuring his hamstring last month, Schwarber appeared in 72 games for the Nationals, all of which came as a left fielder, which has essentially been his primary position throughout his major-league career.

As noted by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, though, the Red Sox — in addition to using him at first base — also plan on using the 6-foot, 229 pounder in the outfield as well as at designated hitter, which would lead to J.D. Martinez getting more playing time in left field.

Taking all that into consideration, it would seem as though Franchy Cordero would be the odd man out in this scenario, as Schwarber can provide the Sox with the left-handed bat they need at first base while Schwarber, Martinez and Verdugo would figure to see the lion’s share of playing time in left field.

Cordero, who has minor-league options remaining, only solves part of the problem, though, as the Red Sox will have to make an even more significant move when it comes time to activate Chris Sale off the 60-day injured list ahead of his 2021 debut on Saturday.

Sale was placed on the 60-day IL back in February and was taken off Boston’s 40-man roster as a result. With the ace left-hander’s return to the mound drawing ever closer, the Sox will have to find a way to create a spot for him,

The same can be said about right-handed reliever Ryan Brasier, who was placed on the 60-day injured list because of a left calf strain in early May.

Like Schwarber, Brasier was slated to appear in Thursday night’s contest between the WooSox and Syracuse Mets while on a rehab assignment, but those plans have since changed.

It does not appear as if Braiser is in line to return and make his 2021 debut with the Red Sox this weekend like Sale is, but it is something the club will need to keep in mind nevertheless.

On top of Sale and Brasier nearing their returns from the 60-day injured lists, Matt Andriese, Darwnizon Hernandez, Christian Arroyo and Danny Santana are all on the 10-day injured list as well.

So, whether it be optioning someone like Cordero or Jonathan Arauz to Worcester to make room for someone who is already on the 40-man roster or designating a struggling veteran like Marwin Gonzalez to make room for someone who needs to be added to the 40-man roster, the Red Sox — led by chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom — could very well be on the verge of a major-league shakeup as they look to keep their postseason hopes alive down the final stretch of the season.

“We’ll talk about it,” Cora said of the possibility of the club making roster moves in the near future. “There’s certain parts of our roster that we have to be better. Overall, to win ballgames, it takes 26 guys. And not everybody’s playing well, not everybody’s contributing the way they’re capable of. So, we’ll talk about it.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of stuff going on this weekend and next week with the IL, Alex [Verdugo] coming back, Christian [Vazquez] coming back on Saturday,” added Cora. “So, that’s something we’ll talk about as a group and we’ll go from there.”

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

Red Sox muster just 2 hits in sleepy 8-1 loss to Rays

With the chance to take a crucial series from the team that is ahead of them in the American League East standings, the Red Sox fell flat on their face in Thursday’s finale against the Rays at Fenway Park.

After going off for a season-high 20 runs on Wednesday, Boston fell quietly to Tampa Bay by a final score of 8-1 on Thursday, marking yet another series loss and their 11th defeat in their last 14 games.

Tanner Houck, making his sixth start of the year for the Sox after being recalled from Triple-A Worcester earlier in the day, got off to a strong start but sputtered towards the end of his outing.

Over five-plus innings of work, the right-hander surrendered four runs — three of which were earned — on six hits and zero walks to go along with eight strikeouts on the afternoon.

Making his first-ever start against the Rays, Houck retired six of the first seven hitters he faced out of the gate.

A leadoff single to Kevin Kiermaier to begin things in the third, however, changed things, as Kiermaier took off for second base on a strikeout of Mike Zunino and also advanced to third base on a throwing error committed by Kevin Plawecki behind the plate.

That miscue proved to be somewhat costly for the Sox, as Brandon Lowe proceeded to bring in Kiermaier from third on a sacrifice fly for the first run of the day.

Still, Houck bounced back with a scoreless top half of the fourth and was rewarded for that in the bottom half of the frame, as the Red Sox lineup finally put something together.

There, matched up against Rays opener Drew Rasmussen, Enrique Hernandez led off the inning by drawing a six-pitch walk. Neither Jarren Duran nor Xander Bogaerts were able to advance Hernandez into scoring position, but Rafael Devers came through with a two-out RBI double to score the runner all the way from first to even things up at one run apiece.

J.D. Martinez had the opportunity to perhaps drive in Devers with a run-scoring hit of his own, but instead grounded out weakly to third base to end the inning.

Houck, meanwhile, put together another solid effort in the fifth by punching out the side, though his luck ran out in the sixth. That being the case because the Rays lineup was about to flip over a third time, and the young righty has typically struggled when facing off against opposing hitters a third time.

That much proved to be true in the sixth inning on Thursday, as Houck issued a leadoff walk to Brandon Lowe before serving up a back-breaking two-run home run to Wander Franco moments later.

Franco’s homer, which had to be reviewed because of where it deflected off the Green Monster, gave the Rays a 3-1 lead and was followed by a hard-hit double from Nelson Cruz, which subsequently marked the end of the line for Houck as he got the hook from Red Sox manager Alex Cora.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 89 (61 strikes), the 25-year-old hurler was ultimately hit with his third losing decision of the year while also seeing his ERA on the season rise to 2.93.

In relief of Houck, left-hander Josh Taylor got the first call out of the Boston bullpen, and he recorded the first two outs of the sixth before intentionally walking Yandy Diaz to pave the way for Hansel Robles to come into the game.

Robles, making his Fenway Park debut, walked the pinch-hitting Manuel Margot on five pitches to fill the bases, then balked in a run that allowed Cruz to score from third, making it a 4-1 contest.

Robles, who officially closed the book on Houck’s outing by allowing that inherited runner to score, was able to get out of the sixth without giving anything else up, but the damage had already been done.

From there, Robles and Austin Davis combined to toss a scoreless seventh inning, though Davis yielded a leadoff triple to Joey Wendle — that was followed by an intentional walk of Diaz — to begin things in the eighth.

Yacksel Rios was dispatched with the idea of limiting any damage and holding the Rays at four runs, but he instead gave up a sacrifice fly to Margot before putting another runner on and surrendering a three-run blast to Zunino.

Zunino’s 23rd homer of the year put the Rays up 8-1, which would go on to be Thursday’s final score after Rios kept Tampa Bay off the board in the top half of the ninth and the Boston bats went down quietly in their halves of the eighth and ninth inning.

All that being said, five different Rays pitchers were able to hold the Red Sox to just one run on two hits and three walks, all of which were drawn by Hernandez. Boston also went 0-for-1 with runners in scoring position while leaving three runners on base as a team.

With the loss, the Red Sox fall to 66-51 on the season and drop back down to five games back of the Rays for first place in the American League East.

Next up: Pivetta vs. Watkins to kick off the weekend

The reeling Red Sox will next welcome the Orioles into town for a three-game weekend series at Fenway Park that begins on Friday night.

Right-hander Nick Pivetta is slated to get the ball for Boston in the opener, while fellow righty Spencer Watkins is expected to do the same for Baltimore.

First pitch Friday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

Red Sox recall Tanner Houck from Triple-A Worcester, send down Phillips Valdez

Before wrapping up their three-game series against the Rays at Fenway Park on Thursday evening, the Red Sox recalled right-hander Tanner Houck from Triple-A Worcester.

In a corresponding move, fellow righty Phillips Valdez was optioned to Triple-A Worcester to make room for Houck on the major-league roster, the club announced earlier Thursday afternoon.

Houck, up with the big-league club for a fifth time this season, will get the start for Boston in Thursday’s rubber match against Tampa Bay, as Sox manager Alex Core previously said.

Through seven appearances — five of which were starts — with the Red Sox this year, the 25-year-old has posted a 2.45 ERA and 1.70 FIP to go along with 36 strikeouts and seven walks over 25 2/3 total innings of work.

Most recently, Houck yielded just one earned run in 3 2/3 innings pitched in Game 2 of this past Saturday’s doubleheader against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

Thursday’s outing will mark Houck’s first career start against the Rays, as he has only faced them on one previous occasion as a reliever back on April 6.

Valdez, meanwhile, was unsurprisingly optioned to the WooSox in order to accommodate the addition of Houck to the major-league roster.

Coming into play on Wednesday, the 29-year-old hurler owned a respectable 3.82 ERA through his first 24 relief appearances (33 innings pitched) of the season with Boston.

Wednesday, however, was a different story for Valdez, as he got shelled for seven runs — all of which were earned — on five hits and two walks in the ninth inning of the Sox’ 20-8 victory over the Rays.

That performance inflated to the Dominican-born righty’s ERA on the year to 5.56, and he will presumably look to sort some things out while back down in Worcester.

In his previous stint with the WooSox, which lasted from June 10 through July 23, Valdez put up a 3.38 ERA and 3.28 xFIP over 11 outings spanning 10 2/3 innings pitched.

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox break out for season-highs in runs and hits in 20-8 thrashing of Rays; Nathan Eovaldi allows just 1 run over 7 strong innings

After falling victim to some mild heartbreak recently, the Red Sox let out their frustrations in a 20-8 romping of the Rays at Fenway Park on Wednesday night.

Matched up against Rays starter Josh Fleming to begin things on Wednesday, the top third of the Sox lineup set the tone right out of the gate, with Enrique Hernandez, Hunter Renfroe, and Xander Bogaerts each doubling off the left-hander to give their side an early 2-0 lead.

J.D. Martinez followed suit and got his exceptional night at the plate started with an RBI single that brought in Bogaerts and made it a 3-0 contest after just one inning.

In the second, it was the bottom and top of the Boston lineup that got the job done against Fleming, as Bobby Dalbec drew a one-out walk, advanced up to third on a two-out double from Hernandez, and both runners scored on another two-run double off the bat of Renfroe. 5-0.

Despite going down relatively quietly in the third, the Boston bats matched that five-run total in their half of the fourth inning alone. Hernandez led off with a single, moved up to single on a walk drawn by Renfroe, and crossed the plate on a Rafael Devers run-scoring single.

Fleming proceeded to intentionally walk Martinez to fill the bases with one out, but followed that up by unintentionally walking Kevin Plawecki to bring in yet another run. Marwin Gonzalez and Dalbec each lifted softly-hit singles to shallow right field to push across three additional runs, thus giving the Sox a commanding 10-0 lead.

An inning later, with reliever Dietrich Enns in for the Rays, the Red Sox padded that lead even further on an RBI single from Martinez that was followed by a three-run triple off the bat of Dalbec, making it a 14-0 contest.

With that sizable of a cushion to work with, Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi was easily able to find a groove in what was his 23rd start of the season.

Over seven dominating innings of work against his former team, Eovaldi allowed just one earned run while scattering just three hits and one walk to go along with 10 strikeouts to tie a season-high in that category.

After retiring 16 of the first 18 batters he faced Wednesday, the lone run the veteran right-hander surrendered came when he served up a solo home run to Brandon Lowe with one out in the top of the sixth.

That cut the Sox’ deficit down to 13 runs at 14-1, but Eovaldi was able to recover nicely by sitting down five of the final six Rays hitters he faced going into the middle of the seventh — the point in which his evening came to a masterful close.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 97 (69 strikes), the 31-year-old hurler ultimately earned his 10th winning decision of the year while lowering his ERA down to 3.92.

In relief of Eovaldi, Yacksel Rios got the first call out of the Sox bullpen and retired the side in order in the eighth.

From there, the Boston offense took advantage of the fact that the Rays had a position player — catcher Francisco Mejia — pitching for them in the bottom half of the inning.

After Dalbec was plunked by a 40 mph curveball, Jarren Duran put runners on the corners with a single of his own.

Renfroe plated Dalbec with yet another RBI base hit, and Bogaerts brought in both Renfroe and Duran on a three-run blast (his 17th home run of the season) that left his bat at 105.5 mph and traveled 428 feet to center field.

That made it an 18-1 game, but the Sox were not done there, as the pinch-hitting Connor Wong collected an RBI of his own on his first career big-league triple and scored his side’s 20th and final run on a base knock from Gonzalez.

Despite being in possession of a 20-1 lead going into the ninth and final frame, Red Sox reliever Phillips Valdez made things somewhat interesting by getting rocked for seven runs on five hits in what was a low-leverage spot.

Still, even after serving up a pair of RBI singles to Wander Franco and Joey Wendle, a grand slam to Brett Phillips, and a solo home run to Mike Zunino, Valdez was ultimately able to hold on and secure a 20-8 victory for his side.

With the win, the Red Sox snap a two-game skid to improve to 66-50 on the season while also moving four games back of the Rays for first place in the American League East.

Some notes from this victory:

From MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo:

From Red Sox Notes:

Next up: Houck vs. Rasmussen

The Red Sox will recall right-hander Tanner Houck from Triple-A Worcester and have him start the rubber match of this three-game series against the Rays on Thursday afternoon, manager Alex Cora said. A corresponding move will need to be made in order to add Houck to the major-league roster.

The Rays, meanwhile, will go with righty Drew Rasmussen in what looks to be a bullpen day for manager Kevin Cash’s club.

First pitch Thursday is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Xander Bogaerts: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Red Sox move struggling Garrett Richards to bullpen with Chris Sale’s return on the horizon

The Red Sox have removed right-hander Garrett Richards from their starting rotation and have moved him to the bullpen, manager Alex Cora announced Wednesday.

Richards, who would have in been line to start on Saturday, will be available out of the bullpen in Tuesday night’s contest against the Rays at Fenway Park.

Saturday’s game against the Orioles, of course, will be started by none other than ace left-hander Chris Sale, who will be making his 2021 debut for the Sox.

In his latest start against the Blue Jays in Toronto this past Sunday, the veteran right-hander surrendered four runs — three of which were earned — on six hits and one walk to go along with two strikeouts over five innings of work, bringing his ERA on the season up to 5.22 over 22 starts (110 1/3 innings pitched).

Richards, 33, originally signed a one-year, $10 million deal with Boston in February after spending the previous two seasons with the Padres. He got lit up for six runs over just two innings in his Red Sox debut in early April, but settled in nicely for a spell after that.

From April 10 through June 11 — a stretch of more than two months, the Oklahoma native put up a respectable 3.42 ERA with 59 strikeouts and 32 walks across 12 starts spanning 68 1/3 innings of work.

Things took a turn for the worst for Richards in mid-June, however, and it came right around the same time Major League Baseball began enforcing stricter policies in regards to pitchers using foreign substances (“sticky stuff”) to enhance their grip on the baseball.

Including an outing against the Braves on June 16 in which he allowed six runs (four earned) in just four innings, Richards has posted an unsightly 7.55 ERA and 1.056 OPS against over his last seven starts and 31 innings pitched, with that start against the Blue Jays over the weekend being the latest instance of his prolonged summer struggles.

Because of these struggles, the Red Sox obviously felt it was time to make a change and opted to move a member of their Opening Day starting rotation to the bullpen for a second time in less than a week as Richards joins the likes of left-hander Martin Perez, whose spot has essentially been handed over to Tanner Houck.

Like Perez, though, Richards does have major-league experience working as a reliever, and Cora believes both hurlers can benefit from the move to the ‘pen while also serving key roles for Boston’s pitching staff moving forward.

Prior to joining the Red Sox over the winter, Richards — who is listed at 6-foot-2 and 202 pounds — made 59 total relief appearances over the course of 10 big-league seasons with the Angels and Padres.

Most recently, the former Oklahoma Sooner was used out of the bullpen by San Diego for the home stretch of the truncated 2020 campaign, as it was his first “full” season back since undergoing Tommy John surgery in July 2018 while he was still with the Angels.

In four appearances out of the Padres’ ‘pen last September, Richards pitched to the tune of a 1.80 ERA while holding opposing batters to a .167/.211/.389 slash line against over five total innings of work.

While it’s no sure thing Richards will find success as he transitions to a relief role with the Red Sox on account of the difficulties he has already endured this season, one would have to assume that his fastball and curveball, both of which possess elite spin rates, will play better out of the bullpen than they did the starting rotation. We will have to wait and see on that.

(Picture of Garrett Richards: Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

Red Sox remove Martín Pérez from starting rotation; Tanner Houck expected to take left-hander’s spot

The Red Sox have removed left-hander Martin Perez from their starting rotation and moved him to the bullpen, manager Alex Cora announced Friday.

Perez recorded just four outs while surrendering three runs in his latest start against the Tigers in Detroit on Thursday, hence the move to demote him to the bullpen.

Including Thursday’s outing, the 30-year-old has posted an ERA of 4.77 and FIP of 4.90 with 85 strikeouts and 33 walks over 22 starts spanning exactly 100 innings of work this season.

After tossing 7 2/3 scoreless innings against the Astros at Minute Maid Park on June 3, Perez has struggled mightily since then, pitching to the tune of a 7.13 ERA and 1.073 OPS against in his last 11 starts and 41 2/3 innings pitched.

As The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier pointed out on Thursday, Perez has made nine starts of four innings or fewer so far this year, which is the most in the American League and tied for the most in all of Major League Baseball.

While Perez may have made his final start for the Red Sox this season, Cora still believes the veteran southpaw can provide value out of the bullpen, especially with fellow lefty Darwinzon Hernandez being sidelined with a right oblique strain at the moment.

“Obviously with Darwinzon (Hernandez) being down, having that third lefty (in the bullpen) is something I’ve been telling Chaim (Bloom) will be good, especially against a few teams in this division now,” Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) prior to Friday’s game against the Blue Jays. “Obviously New York is not as right-handed as they were early. Tampa, the Yankees and obviously we’re going to play some teams that have a lot of switch-hitters. So I do believe somehow, someway, he’s going to help us out of the bullpen.”

With Perez, who owns a lifetime 4.60 ERA in 16 career relief appearances (31 1/3 innings pitched) heading to the Boston bullpen, Tanner Houck will likely be taking the lefty’s spot in the Sox’ starting rotation.

Houck, who threw a simulated game in Detroit on Monday, will start the night cap of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

Over six appearances (four starts) for the Red Sox this season, the 25-year-old right-hander has produced a 2.45 ERA and 1.71 FIP to go along with 30 strikeouts and just five walks in 22 1/3 innings of work.

In addition to Houck essentially re-joining Boston’s starting rotation this weekend, Chris Sale’s return is on the horizon as the ace left-hander prepares to make what should be his final rehab start with Triple-A Worcester on Saturday.

That being said, one has to wonder if Garrett Richards’ spot in the rotation could be in jeopardy as well if Cora and Co. want to roll with five starters (Sale, Houck, Nathan Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, Eduardo Rodriguez) relatively soon.

(Picture of Martin Perez: Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox surprisingly option Tanner Houck to Triple-A Worcester

Before wrapping up their four-game series against the Blue Jays at Fenway Park on Thursday, the Red Sox announced they optioned right-hander Tanner Houck following the conclusion of Wednesday night’s doubleheader.

Houck got the start for the Sox in Game 2 of Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Jays and was stellar in the club’s 4-1 victory, surrendering just one run on two hits, one walk, and seven strikeouts over four strong innings of work.

Prior to the start of Wednesday’s twin bill, Boston recalled catcher Connor Wong from Triple-A Worcester to serve as the team’s 27th man for both games with Toronto. Wong, however, did not appear in either contest, making it seem as though he would be the one to return to Worcester seeing how he is the third backstop on the major-league roster.

Instead, in a surprising turn of events, Boston opted to send Houck down to the WooSox while keeping Wong up with the big-league club for the time being.

According to Red Sox manager Alex Cora, the decision to option Houck has more to do with roster flexibility as apposed to a demotion or anything like that, as the right-hander will pitch during next Saturday’s (August 7) doubleheader against the Blue Jays in Toronto.

“It’s about roster flexibility,” Cora said Thursday afternoon. “Tanner’s going to pitch in the doubleheader on Saturday in Toronto. We’ve got an off day on Monday (August 2), so for now it makes sense to go somewhere else. But, as you guys know, he’s going to be a big part of what we’re trying to accomplish — he’s a big part of it already. So, it just happens that roster-wise right now, in the upcoming days, this is where we’re going.”

Since making his major-league debut for the Sox last September, Houck has posted a dazzling 1.62 ERA and 2.38 FIP to go along with 51 strikeouts to just 14 walks over nine total appearances (seven starts) spanning 39 innings pitched.

After opening the 2021 campaign in Boston’s starting rotation, the 25-year-old hurler was optioned to Worcester in late April and wound up getting shut down for approximately six weeks beginning in early May after experiencing flexor muscle soreness in his throwing arm.

After making his return to the WooSox’ rotation on June 17, Houck was called back up by the Red Sox on July 16 to serve in a hybrid role where he could start and pitch multiple innings out of the bullpen when needed.

The former first-round pick twirled three scoreless frames of relief against the Yankees in the Bronx the very same day he was recalled to notch his first career save and has made two starts since then.

Barring an injury on the major-league front, it seems likely that Houck will make one start for Worcester before getting called up once again next Saturday.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, will seemingly role with a five-man starting rotation that consists of Nathan Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, Garrett Richards, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Martin Perez.

Rodriguez will be making his 20th start of the season for Boston opposite fellow southpaw Hyun Jin Ryu in Thursday’s series finale against Torornto.

First pitch (weather permitting) is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Tanner Houck: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Jarren Duran’s blazing speed lifts Red Sox to 4-1 victory over Blue Jays to salvage doubleheader split

After being limited to just one run in a 4-1 loss in Game 1 of Wednesday’s doubleheader at Fenway Park, the Red Sox flipped the script on the Blue Jays by taking the seven-inning night cap by a final score of 4-1, therefore splitting the twin bill with their division rivals.

Matched up against another left-hander in Jays starter Steven Matz, the Sox — like they did earlier in the afternoon — got the scoring started right away in the bottom half of the first inning.

Enrique Hernandez led things off with a hard-hit double off Matz and Rafael Devers followed by ripping an RBI single to drive him in, but was thrown out at second base after trying to extend his run-scorning single into a double.

In the second, Alex Verdugo and Kevin Plawecki reached base via back-to-back singles to lead off the frame, while Bobby Dalbec advanced both runners 90 feet on a groundout and Jarren Duran got a productive night at the plate started with a sacrifice fly to right field that brought in Verdugo.

That early offense gave Red Sox starter Tanner Houck a two-run cushion to work with, and he did just that by impressing in his fourth start (sixth appearance) of the season on Wednesday.

Over four solid innings of work, Houck yielded just one earned run while scattering all of two hits and one walk to go along with seven strikeouts on the night.

The right-hander began his outing by retiring nine of the first 10 hitters he faced, as he took a no-hit bid into the fourth inning before issuing a leadoff double to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

A passed ball from Red Sox catcher Kevin Plawecki allowed Guerrero Jr. to advance up to third, and the Blue Jays took full advantage of that when Bo Bichette ripped a line-drive single to left field to bring in his side’s first run and cut Boston’s lead down to one run at 2-1.

Houck proceeded to fan Teoscar Hernandez and get Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to line out out to end the inning — as well as his night — while stranding Bichette in scoring position.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 75 (50 strikes), the 25-year-old hurler did not factor into the decision, though he did lower his ERA on the season down to 2.45.

Heading into the second half of this contest with a 2-1 lead to protect, the Boston bats struck once more in the fourth inning, and Plawecki proved to be the catalyst with a leadoff single.

After Dalbec struck out, Duran put his elite speed on full display when he took the fifth pitch he saw from Matz — a 1-2, 77 mph curveball down the heart of the plate — and sent it 359 feet towards the triangle in the right-center field gap.

Blue Jays center fielder George Springer bobbled the ball while trying to corral it, which in turn allowed a hustling Duran to score on the play, though it was ruled a triple and fielding error on the part of Springer.

Still, Duran’s Little League home run gave the Red Sox a 4-1 lead.

Garrett Whitlock took over for Houck in the fifth and tossed two scoreless innings, paving the way for Matt Barnes to come on for the seventh and shut the door on the Jays to notch his 23rd save of the season and secure the 4-1 victory for the Sox.

With the win, the Red Sox improve to 63-40 and are 8-4 since the All-Star break.

Devers removed with tight quad

Rafael Devers was taken out of this game in the sixth inning after tightening his quad while running his bases on a double in the fourth. He was replaced at third base by Bobby Dalbec (Michael Chavis took over at first) and will not play on Thursday — which was already planned.

Next up: Ryu vs. Rodriguez

The Red Sox will go for the series victory over the Blue Jays on Thursday night, with left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez getting the ball for Boston and fellow southpaw Hyun Jin Ryu doing the same for Toronto.

First pitch Thursday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Jarren Duran: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)