White Sox trade Houser to Tampa Bay

When shopping for pitching depth, sometimes it makes sense to scoop up the journeyman who is having a career year. The Tampa Bay Rays did just that on Thursday, acquiring Adrian Houser from the White Sox, according to league sources.

Houser’s journey from spring training afterthought to hot deadline commodity started in Surprise, Ariz., where he signed a minor-league deal with the Texas Rangers. In nine Triple-A games (eight starts), he posted a 5.03 ERA with 37 strikeouts and 15 walks. Meanwhile, the Rangers’ rotation was pretty spectacular in April and May.

With no clear path back to the big leagues, Houser was granted his release to pursue opportunities elsewhere. He signed with the White Sox on May 20, and — thanks in part to a mechanical tweak — has gone 6-2 with a 2.10 ERA in 11 starts.

His peripherals suggest that he isn’t likely to stay quite this dominant — his 3.30 FIP, 3.96 expected ERA and 1.223 WHIP aren’t quite top-of-the-rotation worthy — but they’re certainly not bad, either.

With Zack Littell and Ryan Pepiot already at the top of their rotation, Tampa Bay doesn’t need Houser to be an ace. If he can eat innings and keep his performance level even close to what he has been with the White Sox, that will work just fine.

Meanwhile, it’s an organizational win for the White Sox, who weren’t ever going to contend in 2025. Turning a 32-year-old minor leaguer into a tradable asset is good work for a team at the bottom of the standings.

Tampa Bay is sending infielder Curtis Mead and minor-league right-handed pitchers Duncan Davitt and Ben Peoples to the White Sox in exchange for Houser. Mead, 24, is batting .226 with three home runs, eight RBI and 14 runs scored in 49 games with Tampa Bay this season.

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