Overview
- Team officials announced a defined progression that begins with a roughly 20‑pitch outing with Double‑A Portland, moves to a 40–45 pitch appearance later in the week, and is followed by a planned Triple‑A Worcester outing next week.
- Interim manager Chad Tracy and multiple reports say the Red Sox expect Houck to return as a reliever rather than being rebuilt into a starter because the regular season calendar offers too little time to re‑stretch him.
- Houck threw short bridge outings in Fort Myers this month, logging 15–18 pitches with a fastball that averaged about 92 mph and peaked near 94 mph, signs the arm is building back.
- If each step of the rehab goes smoothly the timeline makes a late‑September activation plausible and would put Houck in play to pitch during Boston’s final homestand and be considered for the postseason roster.
- Houck’s comeback matters because his starter‑level repertoire used in shorter bursts could provide a different kind of high‑leverage option for a heavily used Red Sox bullpen that is pushing for the playoffs after last season’s hybrid elbow reconstruction.