Houck will start the 2020 season at Triple-A Pawtucket, Alexandra Francisco of NESN reports.

EDGE Analysis

Houck's name bubbled up as a possible candidate for the rotation in 2020, even before news of Chris Sale needing Tommy John elbow surgery. Now with two rotation slots to fill, the Red Sox are digging deeper to find depth starters. However, they plan to keep Houck at Pawtucket, where he finished up the 2019 season as a reliever. If the Red Sox are not a contender in 2020, they may hand out starting opportunities to their young starters, like Houck, Bryan Mata, Mike Shawaryn or Kyle Hart.