We’ve reached the point where Tanner Houck now feels like he belongs to a completely different era of Red Sox baseball. And yet, might he be a contributor to the 2026 team? After undergoing Tommy John surgery last season, Houck’s rehab is now said be progressing so well that the Sox “think he could be a factor down the stretch.” Houck is currently in Fort Myers, where he’s throwing multiple bullpen sessions a week. “It’s feasible that if he’s able to get back — plus with his history of what he’s done before, and if he’s right — that guy can help you,“ said Chad Tracy. (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)
If Houck does he return, he’ll be the second former rotation mainstay in the bullpen, joining Brayan Bello, who has been outstanding as a long reliever. And in light of the fact that Payton Tolle and Jake Bennett are both being tightly monitored vis a vis workload, Bello could prove to be a key contributor on this team. (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)
Bello is far from the only player making contributions in a surprise role. Andruw Monasterio has now made 10 straight starts at shortstop, where he is holding his own. (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)
Of course Monasterio is not the most exciting shortstop option in the Red Sox organization. That would be uber prospect Franklin Arias, whose name has swirled in trade deadline rumors lately. But it doesn’t seem likely that he’ll head out the door. “One rival executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity to be candid, said he believes the Red Sox might only trade Arias for the Washington Nationals’ CJ Abrams. The Red Sox are not necessarily as high on other shortstops who’ve been linked to the team, such as the Los Angeles Angels’ Zach Neto and Miami Marlins’ Otto Lopez. Abrams is under club control for two additional seasons, Neto and Lopez for three.” (Jen McCaffrey, Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic)
Was Franklin Arias the stumbling block in the way of Elly de la Cruz? The Red Sox reportedly offered up an unknown package of prospects for the star shortstop, but the Reds weren’t interested. (Sean McAdam, MassLive)
Sonny Gray knows what it’s like to be the subject of trade deadline rumors, which is why he’s trained himself to not think about it. “If I’m in a conversation with teammates and the conversation starts to go down that road, there’s a trigger inside of me that just immediately wants to change it. Hey, it’s nothing that we control. That’s not up to us. Let’s just do what we do.” (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)
But that’s not to say that the players don’t care about the trade deadline. This Red Sox team has earned the right to care, which is why one player’s response to the news of the Tarik Skubal trade last night was “Who are we going to get?” (Rob Bradford, WEEI)
