Blue Jays Should Target White Sox Starter Adrian Houser at Trade Deadline

The Toronto Blue Jays could take a low-cost approach to adding some starting pitching depth at the trade deadline.

Jul 9, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Adrian Houser (57) delivers a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at Rate Field. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Adrian Houser made his final start for the Chicago White Sox before the MLB trade deadline on Thursday.

Whether it’s his final start for the White Sox this season remains to be seen.

Houser has become a name to watch on the trade market, per ESPN, which reported earlier this week that a half-dozen MLB scouts were in attendance to watch his start as they try to assess whether adding the 32-year-old starter is worth their time.

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Houser went 6.2 innings against the Chicago Cubs, as he allowed five hits and three earned runs, but threw shutout baseball for the first six innings. He struck out three and walked three.

Entering the game, he was 5-2 with a 1.89 ERA in 10 starts for the White Sox. Houser hasn’t been this effective since 2021, when he went 10-6 with a 3.22 ERA with Milwaukee.

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He is a sell-high player for Chicago, and the Toronto Blue Jays should consider pursuing him because he is no likely to cost them top prospects and because Houser is a free agent after the season.

Toronto has Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt, Max Scherzer and Eric Lauer in the starting rotation. Bowden Francis is on the 15-day injured list and Alex Manoah is on the 60-day IL. Manoah is on a rehab assignment after elbow surgery last year, but he remains about a month away from helping the team.

Francis hasn’t pitched since June with a right shoulder impingement and hasn’t started a rehab assignment yet.

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Scherzer missed most of the first half with right thumb inflammation and hasn’t pitched a full season since 2023.

Toronto could use a little more depth in the rotation and Houser is unlikely to cost the Blue Jays more than two prospects.

It’s been a wild season for the former Brewers starter. He began the year as a non-roster invitee with the Texas Rangers in spring training. He failed to make the opening day roster but accepted an assignment to Triple-A Round Rock.

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He was granted his release on May 15 and signed with the White Sox five days later. He immediately joined the starting rotation and has been Chicago’s most effective starter since.

With the White Sox well out of the playoff race and still in rebuild mode, Houser is a luxury. The prospects he could bring in would help Chicago’s future. Houser could help Toronto’s present, even if he must move into a long relief role if the rotation gets crowded.

Houser, a former second-round pick of the Houston Astros, will be a free agent after the season. He made his Major League debut in 2015 with the Milwaukee Brewers. He’s been relatively durable and played for the Brewers through 2023, where he went 31-34 with a 4.00 ERA.

After that, he was traded to the New York Mets for the 2024 season, where he struggled and was eventually released after going 1-5 with a 5.84 ERA.

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