Red Sox and Tanner Houck discussed an extension last season
The Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and team president and CEO Sam Kennedy have said the club is going to be aggressive in extending its younger talent. On Wednesday, right-hander Tanner Houck told MassLive’s Chris Cotillo that he spoke with the organization about an extension.
“Conversations, but nothing came of it,” Houck said Wednesday. “We’re pretty happy with where we’re at right now. There’s no reason to rush into anything.”
Houck said that the conversations with the front office never got to the point where Boston made an offer.
“We never really even got that far,” he said. “(It was) a conversation. We talked here and there. Mainly it’s just going out there and continuing to worry about what I can do on the field.”
Houck will turn 27 in June is under the Red Sox control until the 2027 season. Since his debut in 2020, the right-handed hurler is 9-9 with a 3.02 ERA, making 20 starts in 53 appearances.
“If the opportunity on both sides is right, I’d be willing to, but both sides have to feel comfortable with an agreement,” he said.
The former first round pick is coming into camp this spring aiming to be a starting pitcher. The Red Sox have many options for the rotation and if Houck wants to maximize his earnings potential, being a starter will be beneficial.
However, his role on the team is not something he can control other than taking the ball and being effective by getting outs.
He is willing to bet on himself and see where things take him into the future.
“I think it really depends on the individual person,” he said. “If you’re willing to bet on yourself and believe that you can sign that bigger contract, then take the shot, in my opinion, if you’re a betting man. If you’re not and you like the security, it’s perfectly fine. There’s nothing wrong with it either way, but as an individual, I think you have to be okay with it.
“You have to be able to lay your head down at night and know that you’re happy with your decision,” he said. “If you sit back and look at it and say, ‘I made a mistake,’ either way, to sign an extension or not, then I think you made the wrong choice. But as long as you as an individual are fine with it, I think that’s the best thing.”
Follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisHenrique
For additional Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, MLB and NFL content follow Beyond the Monster on Twitter @BeyondtheMnstr.
