Should Cubs, White Sox strike a deal before trade deadline?

Most front offices are taking a break from trade talk to focus on this weekend's MLB Draft.

But White Sox general manager Chris Getz is about to become very popular leading into the July 31 trade deadline.

As it stands today, the Sox have one of the most coveted trade targets with the surprising improvement of starting pitcher Adrian Houser. This could be a chance for the Sox to land a top-100 prospect and add some offense to the young lineup, while the Cubs might be a good match.

“(Trade) conversations will continue, but they do quiet down for this week and into the draft,” Getz said Monday at Rate Field. “But then, you don't have a whole lot of time before you need to really focus on essentially the trade season, which is always very active.

“We'll have conversations and if we feel like we can better our organization for the long term, we'll certainly consider it.”

Houser's star turn on the South Side is something no one saw coming. In eight starts, he's posted a 1.60 ERA and has faced playoff-caliber opponents like Toronto, San Francisco, Seattle and the Mets.

What doesn't make sense is Houser's performance in the year before joining the White Sox. He was released by the Mets last July 31 with a 5.84 ERA.

Houser's next stop was the Cubs. He started four games for the Iowa Cubs last August and did OK, posting a 3.86 ERA, but was released.

After that, Houser produced a 9.18 ERA for the Orioles' Triple-A squad at the end of last year, then a 5.03 ERA for Rangers' Triple-A at the start of this season. With the White Sox, he's been amazing. Since making his Sox debut on May 20, the right-hander has the fifth-best starter ERA in MLB — trailing only Ranger Suarez, Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal and Zack Wheeler.

One explanation for Houser's success is work he did in the offseason to refine his windup and mechanics. His average four-seam velocity of 95.0 miles per hour is the highest since an abbreviated rookie season in Milwaukee in 2015, while the curve has been most effective of his five pitches.

Houser, 32, is inexpensive and nothing ties him to the White Sox beyond this season. So the question is, how high is the demand across MLB? Are teams convinced he can have this kind of success in the playoffs? That's what Getz needs to figure out.

Meanwhile, if there's a weakness on the Cubs, it's starting pitching, which ranked 19th in MLB in ERA heading into Tuesday's action. They got Shota Imanaga back from a hamstring injury, will miss Jameson Taillon this month with a calf strain, should get Javier Assad back in early August, maybe with a fresh arm.

So it's hard to tell where the Cubs rotation will be in October, especially with a couple older arms like Matthew Boyd and Colin Rea handling a heavy workload so far. Houser spent six seasons playing for Craig Counsell in Milwaukee.

The Cubs also have a player who would fit well with the White Sox in outfielder Owen Caissie. Is the No. 43 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline too much to give for a sudden pitching sensation heading into free agency? Hard to say, but that's probably the type of return Getz is hoping for.

“When you find a guy that you feel like can be an everyday player at the major league level, teams really value that, and it can be difficult to pry (away),” Getz said. “But then you'll find some organizations that are highly motivated to go for it and try to win a World Series and you might be able to net something.”

Caissie is coming off a big month of June (1.040 OPS) and was just named International League player of the week. He's essentially blocked right now by the Cubs’ outfielders, but it's hard to tell how he's viewed long-term. If the Cubs don't re-sign Kyle Tucker in free-agency, there will be an opening. Or they may spend so much to keep Tucker, management might feel it needs to let go of Ian Happ or Seiya Suzuki when their contracts expire after '26.

With Luis Robert Jr.'s trade value tanking, the White Sox's next-best asset at the deadline might be outfielder Mike Tauchman, who is hitting .303.

“Having Mike Tauchman with the White Sox is a good thing,” Getz said. “But if conversations pick up and it makes sense, then we'll do a deep dive.”