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The Red Sox are expected to place Houck on the restricted list prior to Monday's series opener in Toronto, Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe reports.
Because he remains unvaccinated against COVID-19, Houck won't be eligible to cross the Canadian border and will miss the Red Sox's second series of the season in Toronto after he was previously unavailable for the four-game set at Rogers Centre in late April. While the team is in Canada, Houck will throw a live batting practice session in Boston to stay sharp before he's eligible to rejoin the Red Sox in Chicago for their series with the Cubs that begins Friday. Houck has emerged as Boston's preferred option at closer over the past three weeks, but John Schreiber and Matt Strahm will likely represent the best bets to pick up save chances during the Toronto series.
