Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Houck will start Saturday's game against the Orioles, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

EDGE Analysis

As anticipated, Houck will be part of the Opening Day rotation after a replacement was needed for Eduardo Rodriguez (dead arm), who was placed on the 10-day injured list Thursday. Considering that Rodriguez is scheduled to pitch a simulated game at Triple-A Worcester on Friday, he wouldn't seem to be at risk at missing more than one or two turns through the rotation. Assuming that's the case, Houck's time with the big club will likely be short-lived.

Houck appears to be lined up to start the second game of the season Saturday against Baltimore, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

Houck was optioned in mid-March, but the Red Sox may need a spot starter right away as Eduardo Rodriguez has been held back by arm fatigue. The team hasn't made a final decision about whether or not Rodriguez will open the year on the injured list, but they seem to be leaning that way. Houck makes for an interesting streaming option given that he'll be facing a weak offense and showed plenty of potential in his three-start debut last year, striking out 21 batters in 17 innings while allowing just one earned run.

Houck allowed two hits and one walk while striking out six over 4.1 scoreless innings in Monday's spring game against Atlanta.

EDGE Analysis

Houck, who was optioned to minor-league camp two weeks ago, may have been motivated by the news that he could open the regular season in Boston's rotation. He's had encouraging outings, like Monday's, along with a pair of walk-fests in which he permitted nine free passes in 3.1 innings. Those command issues led to his demotion, but circumstances have changed for the young right-hander. Eduardo Rodriguez's dead arm scratched him from an Opening Day nod while projected starter Garrett Richards and swingman Matt Andriese were quarantining. Now that Matt Barnes' positive result for COVID has been deemed a false positive, both Richards and Andriese are back with the team. If Richards is ready to go for his projected start Saturday, the possibility exists that Houck could take Rodriguez's first turn through the rotation.

Houck remains in contention to open the season as a member of the Red Sox rotation, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

Houck appeared set to begin the season in the minors after he was optioned March 17, but the complexion of Boston's rotation has changed dramatically since then. Eduardo Rodriguez is working through a dead-arm phase that will prevent him from being available for Boston's season-opening series with the Orioles this weekend, while projected No. 3 starter Garrett Richards' status is uncertain while he's believed to be away from the team due to COVID-19-related concerns. Nathan Eovaldi and Martin Perez are scheduled to start two of the Red Sox's three games with Baltimore, but Houck -- who is pitching in Monday's Grapefruit League game against Atlanta -- is tentatively lined up to start Saturday versus the Orioles.

Houck was optioned to Boston's alternate training site Wednesday, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

EDGE Analysis

Houck was competing for a back-end rotation spot during spring training, but manager Alex Cora named his five-man rotation Tuesday. Houck wasn't included among the starters, and he should begin the year with Triple-A Worcester. The right-hander made three appearances (one start) this spring and allowed six runs on six hits and 10 walks while striking out four over 6.1 innings.

Houck allowed three runs on three hits, four walks and a hit batsman while striking out one over 2.2 innings in Tuesday's spring game against Atlanta.

EDGE Analysis

Houck's mission was to pound the strike zone as he did in his second spring start, but he walked two batters and hit one in the first inning. He's now sandwiched two shaky, command-challenged outings around a dominant start in Grapefruit League play. The right-hander has permitted 10 walks and hit a batter over 6.1 innings. Boston manager Alex Cora named his five-man rotation Tuesday, and Houck will not be part of it. He will likely start at Triple-A Worcester and work through his location issues.

Houck allowed one hit and one walk while striking out three over three scoreless innings in Wednesday's spring game against Atlanta.

EDGE Analysis

Houck was overpowering Wednesday, a complete reversal of his first Grapefruit League outing, in which he walked five and retired just two batters. His fastball routinely hit 96-97 mph on the radar, per Ian Browne of MLB.com, well above the 92 he showed last season. "I saw him pitch last year, and I noticed he was 92, 93," manager Alex Cora said. "With his movement, I thought that was good enough. But now, you see 96, 97, it's eye-opening." Throwing strikes consistently and attacking the zone will be the mission going forward for Houck, who is expected to start the season at Triple-A Worcester.

Houck allowed three runs on two hits and five walks over two-thirds of an inning in Thursday's spring game against Baltimore.

EDGE Analysis

Houck, who made three promising starts at the end of 2020, is expected to open the season in the minors, but that didn't diminish the anticipation for his spring debut. Unfortunately, he was unable to lock into his delivery and was all over the place. The right-hander still has enough time in camp to make a push for a spot in the big-league rotation, but keeping his crossfire delivery in sync might always be something of a challenge.

Red Sox pitching coach Dave Bush said Houck still needs to develop his splitter, which he introduced as a third pitch last season, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports. "If he's going to be a consistent big-league starter over time, he's going to need a quality third pitch. He knows that and that's probably been on the top of the list," said Bush.

EDGE Analysis

Houck dazzled in a three-start stint late last season, but Bush's comments suggest the right-hander will open the season at Triple-A Worcester. He threw a handful of splitters during his starts in 2020, relying heavily on the fastball-slider mix, so it makes sense for Boston to have him work on the third pitch in the minors.

Houck is not guaranteed a starting role to begin the 2021 season, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

EDGE Analysis

Houck was excellent to close the 2020 season in his big-league debut, as he allowed only one earned run across 17 innings in three starts. Despite that, he won't be guaranteed a spot in the rotation immediately for the 2021 campaign and instead will compete for the role with Martin Perez, Nick Pivetta, Matt Andriese and Garrett Whitlock.