The Red Sox may not need to go shopping for Aroldis Chapman’s replacement after all. Boston already has a built-in option waiting in the wings, and it happens to be a familiar one: Tanner Houck.
Chapman remains the headliner in a bullpen that has been one of the best in baseball since the start of last season. The nine-time All-Star and two-time Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year is still getting the job done, but the chatter around him has picked up this season as rumors swirl that Boston could deal him at the deadline.
That idea has sparked some pushback, mostly because moving Chapman would seem to leave the Red Sox without a closer. But Houck’s return changes that conversation.
Houck has spent most of his Boston career as a starter, and he made the All-Star team in 2024 in that role. Last season, though, he appeared in only five games before Tommy John surgery shut him down. Now he’s working his way back, throwing two bullpens a week, according to Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy.
Boston has seen Houck handle the ninth inning before. In 2022, after Matt Barnes lost the role, Houck stepped in as the closer and delivered a 5-4 record with a 3.15 ERA, 56 strikeouts, a WHIP of 1.183 and eight saves across 28 relief appearances.
That history is why some fans are already looking at him as Chapman’s eventual successor. Still, the more immediate reality is that Chapman doesn’t look like a trade chip unless Boston is blown away by an offer. He has a 2.05 ERA, 38 strikeouts, a WHIP of 1.210 and 21 saves in 32 games this season, and the Red Sox have won 12 straight and 17 of their last 19 to move into a Wild Card spot.
There’s also the contract angle. Boston has a vesting option on Chapman for next season if he throws 40 or more innings this year and passes an end-of-year physical. He has already logged 30 innings, so that threshold appears well within reach.
All of that points to Chapman likely staying put, at least for now. It also leaves Houck in a tricky spot as he tries to carve out a role on a staff with plenty of depth.
The most likely path is that Chapman closes this season and probably most, if not all, of next year as well. Houck’s final year of arbitration is next season too, and if Boston doesn’t extend him, he’ll hit free agency.
If that happens, the Red Sox may use next season as the test run: if Houck performs, he could be the next man in the ninth. If not, Boston can move on.
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