Red Sox plan to tender right-hander a contract Tanner HawkMassLive’s Chris Cotillo reports. The club has until Friday night to change its mind, but it appears they plan to keep Hoke on the roster.
Friday night at 7 p.m. Central is the deadline for clubs to decide whether to offer contracts to pre-arbitration and arbitration-eligible players. Teams and players do not need to decide on salaries before that date. They have until January 8 to submit payroll data. But teams have until Friday to make a decision on whether to commit to paying players. If the player is still on the roster after the deadline, the team will eventually have to pay him something, and a variety of outcomes are still possible at that point. Friday’s non-tender allowed the team to leave without paying anything.
Given Hawke’s health, he could be considered a borderline case. He just had Tommy John surgery in August. He will likely miss the entire 2026 season. He can be retained through arbitration until 2027, when he becomes a free agent.
Since 2026 could be a recovery year for Hawk, this decision is more about 2027. The Red Sox will likely pay him through the 2026 season, hoping the investment pays off in the coming year. This is something teams often do in free agency. Pitchers recovering from surgery typically sign two-year contracts, with the signing team knowing they may only get a meaningful return on their investment in the second year, while the player stashes away some cash while he recovers.
The Red Sox themselves did just that last offseason, as they signed Patrick Sandoval Two-year deal worth $18.25. The lefty doesn’t play for the Red Sox in 2025, but the Sox are hoping to get something from him next year. Other pitchers have received similar deals recently. Sean Bieber For example, last winter received $26MM from the Guardians, but opted out midway. a year ago, Tyler Mahler Got $22MM from the Rangers with no opt-out. the brewers gave Brandon Woodruff Two years and $17.5 while he recovers from shoulder surgery.
Investing in Hawk will cost less than that. In 2025, his first of three arbitration seasons, he will make $3.95MM. He’ll start just nine games in 2025 due to arm issues, but players who go through the arbitrage usually find their paychecks are pretty steady when they miss important games. MLBTR writer Matt Swartz projects Houck will make the same salary in 2026 at $3.95MM. If he stays on the roster and gets a contract through 2027, he’ll likely be in the same range again.
Essentially, offering Hoke a contract for the next two years would likely cost the Red Sox a total of about $8MM. They could also cut their losses by moving on after 2026 if he encounters some sort of setback. The roughly $8MM is less than half of what they paid Sandoval for the guarantee and the other deals mentioned above. Hoke doesn’t have the same track record as those guys but has shown a lot of promise, especially in 2024, when he pitched 178 2/3 innings with a 3.12 ERA, 20.7% strikeout rate, 6.5% walk rate, and 55.9% ground ball rate.
If the Red Sox don’t invite Hoke, it could be a sign that they don’t expect him to be fully back at that level in 2027, although there could be other factors at play. There is no injured list this offseason, so the Red Sox will have to keep Hoke on the roster through the winter. Tomorrow is the deadline to add players to the 40-man roster to prevent them from being selected in the Rule 5 draft. The Red Sox currently have 40 players, and assuming they want to add some players, they will need to open up some spots. Cotillo mentioned the possibility of a lockout in 2027, which could prevent the Red Sox from benefiting from Houck’s eventual return. However, management still has to plan as the season progresses as there is currently no certainty surrounding the labor dispute.
The Red Sox currently have Garrett Crochet and Brian Bello It remains under the club’s control until at least 2030. Beyond that, there aren’t many certainties. Kurt Crawford Great results have been achieved and should be added to it. He will be under club control until 2028. The aforementioned Sandoval is only signed for one more year. guys like Connery Earl, Peyton Toll and Kyle Harrison All in, but still not proven to be a major leaguer. The Red Sox plan to add to their rotation this offseason but have yet to do so.
Even if a pitcher looks good on paper, injuries are always inevitable, so it’s anyone’s guess what the pitching depth will look like when Hoke returns to the major league mound. He’s also had some success as a reliever, so perhaps there’s a scenario where he gets pushed into the bullpen, especially if there are workload issues in the next few years. Time will tell how that plays out, but the Red Sox appear to be hoping that Hoke’s pitching in Boston will pay off.
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