FORT MYERS, Fla. -- As the Red Sox push toward the final week of Spring Training, decisions are starting to be made.

Prior to Sunday’s split-squad contest against the Yankees, manager Alex Cora announced that righty Josh Winckowski was taken out of the rotation competition and moved to the bullpen for a multi-inning role.

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“Extremely disappointed,” said Winckowski, who has a 4.76 ERA in four spring outings. “It was something I was looking forward to and excited for. I think at the end of the day, it's on me though. I obviously didn’t pitch well the other day. A couple of pitches have been not what they were last year. At the end, [I] could have been better, should have been better.”

Winckowski’s disappointment created more of an opportunity for Tanner Houck, the starter in a 12-6 win over the Yankees at JetBlue Park, to make the rotation.

Instead of four pitchers vying for the fourth and fifth spots, the derby is down to three. Out of Houck, Garrett Whitlock and Cooper Criswell, only one will be left out of the rotation.

“I like my chances,” Houck said. “But at the same time, I know I’ve got to go out there and continue to compete and continue to push myself to get better each time. Let the cards fall as they do.”

It was mostly a good day Sunday for Houck. His first three innings were scoreless, but the lanky righty was lifted after 3 2/3 frames, throwing 76 pitches over that span. Two inherited runners scored after Houck exited. Houck walked one and struck out four, and his Grapefruit League ERA is 2.40 in five outings.

“Excellent,” said Cora. “That was good. He threw the ball well. He's been really good at throwing strikes this spring. This stuff is good. I think he understands what he needs to do to go deeper into the games. He’s in a great place. A much better place than last year at this time.”

While ideally, Houck would have pitched at least some of the fifth inning, Cora said he thought Boston’s nine-run first inning took some rhythm away from his pitcher.

“I mean, he was in the dugout for like an hour at one point,” Cora said. “It’s not easy to do. That inning took forever.”

Even though he won’t break camp as a starter, Winckowski still views himself as one.

“I think so. The Dominican game [on March 9 against the Rays], I used all my pitches. I was sitting 96-97, my cutter was 92-93. So yeah, I still think I can be a starter,” Winckowski said. “I think this year was one of the best chances I’ll ever get. So obviously, that's a little frustrating. Not oftentimes you have two-fifths of a rotation open. So [it's] definitely frustrating that I didn't take advantage of the opportunity, but I still see myself as a starter.”

Winckowski was one of Cora’s most reliable relievers last season. So having him in that role should be a benefit to the Red Sox.

“I do believe everybody here in the past and in the present, they see a starter,” Cora said of Winckowski. “I think at the end of the day with where we’re at right now, this is the best way.”

Then there is Houck, who has also dealt with fluidity in his role.

After spending the 2021 and ’22 seasons as a swingman, Houck was used exclusively in the rotation last season, going 6-10 with a 5.01 ERA in 21 starts. His ’23 season was interrupted in June when he suffered a facial fracture after being struck by a batted ball against the Yankees.

While there’s pressure on Houck to become more consistent and at last have a defined role, he doesn’t let it get to him.

Before Sunday’s start, he was playfully shooting hoops in the clubhouse.

“That’s just me,” said Houck. “[I’m] loose. Have fun. Go out and compete with the guys. Have fun each day. Go out there and do your job and get ready.”

Houck will have one more start in Spring Training on Saturday, meaning a final chance to cement his spot in Boston’s starting five. There’s also a chance Cora will define his role before that.

The 27-year-old Houck has some points of emphasis as camp reaches the final stretch.

“I’ve been battling my splitter a little bit. It was good early on in camp,” Houck said. “I think I’m just getting a little too wristy with it. The slider, I wanted to loose-wrist it, and because of that everything was just kind of backing up and spinning. Toward the end there, I really kind of death-gripped the ball a little bit more, and it was a lot better.”