White Sox Pull Off Deadline Robbery With Houser Trade
The White Sox were significantly less busy at the deadline than expected, which is surprising considering the market for teams that were selling. However, they made a nice last minute trade sending pitcher Adrian Houser to the Tampa Bay Rays.
According to Jesse Rogers of ESPN, the White Sox received infielder Curtis Mead, as well as AAA pitchers Duncan Davitt and Benjamin Peoples in exchange for Houser.
The White Sox got infielder Curtis Mead along with prospects Duncan Davitt and Benjamin Peoples back from the Rays in the houser deal.
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) July 31, 2025
For just a rental player, this is an extremely solid return. Curtis Mead was a former top-100 prospect that was ranked as high as 33 on the MLB Pipeline list prior to the 2023 season.
Curtis Mead is the return in the Adrian Houser deal. Solid move by GM Chris Getz and the #WhiteSox for a midseason pickup.
Posted a .438 OBP in June with #RaysUp and offers defensive flexibility at 2B/3B, a disciplined approach, and emerging power.pic.twitter.com/NVIZjTakrk https://t.co/YXZTyk3ecN
— Adrian White (@AdrianWhiteSox) July 31, 2025
As of right now, Curtis Mead only has 320 MLB at-bats under his belt, so he still has plenty of time to develop into a nice major league hitter. In those 320 at-bats, Mead has hit .238 with five home runs and 20 RBIs. He has been much more successful in the minor leagues, as he has hit .297 with a .371 OBP and a .875 OPS in 300+ minor league games.
In addition to Mead, the White Sox also received two pitchers. One of the pitchers is Duncan Davitt, a 25 year old starting pitcher who has made it to AAA this season.
6 quality frames tonight from Duncan Davitt, including these 8 strikeouts
Final line: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 SO
???????????????????????????????? pic.twitter.com/94bRgOLM2P— Durham Bulls (@DurhamBulls) July 30, 2025
So far in 103 innings pitched between AA and AAA, Davitt has 4.08 ERA with 105 strikeouts and a very solid 1.17 WHIP. He will likely join the rotation in AAA, as they could use some extra depth.
The White Sox also acquired 24 year old reliever Ben Peoples. Peoples has spent the whole year in AAA and has not made his MLB debut yet. In 37.1 innings, Peoples has a 2.65 ERA with 39 strikeouts.
Ben Peoples pops in our model. Interesting to see the Rays let him go.https://t.co/OLHn22pBP2 https://t.co/2QLn00hMe6 pic.twitter.com/wp1BAuPToj
— Prospect Savant (@ProspectSavant) July 31, 2025
It is likely that we will see all three of these players in Chicago at some point this year, as they are all in AAA or ready to make the jump to the major leagues. This was a very nice return for Houser, as the White Sox hopefully will get three useful MLB players.