Headlines

  • MLB Trade Tracker: July
  • Padres Acquire Mason Miller, JP Sears
  • Astros Acquire Carlos Correa
  • Rays, Twins Swap Griffin Jax For Taj Bradley
  • Padres Acquire Ryan O’Hearn, Ramon Laureano
  • Rangers Acquire Merrill Kelly
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Rays Acquire Adrian Houser For Curtis Mead and Pitching Prospects

By Tim Dierkes | July 31, 2025 at 5:23pm CDT

The Rays are acquiring starting pitcher Adrian Houser from the White Sox, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Infielder Curtis Mead will head to Chicago in return, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Bruce Levine of 670 The Score adds that the White Sox will also receive right-handed pitchers Duncan Davitt and Ben Peoples.

Houser, 32, had a rough 2024 season with the Mets but spent the offseason training at “at PitchingWRX, a facility in Oklahoma City where former Sox pitcher Lane Ramsey is the chief of operations,” according to James Fegan of Sox Machine.  Houser landed a minor league deal with the Rangers in December, then inked a Major League one with the White Sox on May 20th.  Houser had added over a mile per hour to his fastball due to his offseason training, and posted a stellar 2.10 ERA in 11 starts for the Sox.

Somehow, Houser has had this level of success despite a 17.1 K%.  He’s had success preventing barrels, and Statcast’s xERA supports a sub-4 mark.  Houser, a free agent after the season, joins a Rays rotation that also includes Ryan Pepiot, Shane Baz, Drew Rasmussen, and Joe Boyle.  Houser, a free agent after the season, can serve as something of a replacement for Zack Littell, who the Rays dealt to the Reds yesterday.  The Rays optioned Taj Bradley to Triple-A a week ago, but today shipped him to the Twins for elite reliever Griffin Jax.

It’s been an interesting month for Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander, who also shipped out Danny Jansen and Bryan Baker earlier this month.  The Rays simply aren’t afraid to make trades (including during a game with their opponent) and serve as both buyers and sellers.  The Rays took a painful loss in New York against the Yankees today, with Yandy Diaz, Jonathan Aranda, and Chandler Simpson all departing early with injuries.  The club still has a fighting chance at 3.5 games out in the Wild Card.

Mead, 25 in October, hasn’t done much with Major League pitching in stints in each of the last three seasons.  Nor has he been all that impressive in Triple-A in the last few years.  Still, Mead has spent ample time on Baseball America’s top 100 prospects list, peaking at #36 prior to the 2023 season.  He garnered a 55/medium risk grade at that time, at which point Baseball America considered him “one of the best pure hitters in the minors.”  Though the Rays are considered a dangerous trading partner, Mead represents a rare misstep for the club, as they acquired him for Cristopher Sanchez back in November 2019.

Not known for his defense, Mead can fit at first, second, or third base.  Those spots are occupied in Chicago by Miguel Vargas, Lenyn Sosa, and Colson Montgomery of late, with Andrew Benintendi taking a fair number of DH at-bats.  Mead can likely work his way into the playing time mix.  As Jim Margalus of Sox Machine notes, Mead bears some similarities to Vargas.

Davitt, a 25-year-old righty, earned a promotion to Triple-A earlier this month. Eric Longenhagen and James Fegan of FanGraphs described him in February as “a funky low-slot guy at Iowa who has successfully been turned into a backend starter prospect in pro ball.”  Peoples, a 24-year-old righty, has spent the entire season as a reliever at Triple-A, posting a 2.65 ERA with a 12.3 K-BB%.  The FanGraphs team wrote, “We’re betting on Peoples’ athleticism and delivery here, and still think he has a future as a fastball-heavy up/down reliever who has a chance to entrench himself in a more regular big league role if one of his secondary pitches improves.”

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Chicago White Sox Newsstand Tampa Bay Rays Transactions Adrian Houser Curtis Mead

Guardians Claim Carlos Hernandez
Main
Brewers Acquire Shelby Miller
View Comments (61)
Post a Comment

61 Comments

  1. Canuckleball

    18 hours ago

    That’s unexpected.

    1
    Reply
    • Acoss1331

      18 hours ago

      Houser got pulled from his start.

      4
      Reply
      • Canuckleball

        18 hours ago

        I figured he might get traded. Just didn’t think the Rays would be trading for pitching, They’re usually trading it away.

        5
        Reply
  2. Rsox

    18 hours ago

    Replacement in the rotation for Littell

    2
    Reply
  3. Friarguy19

    18 hours ago

    Was wondering if he was going to be moved.

    2
    Reply
  4. dirtyjog

    18 hours ago

    Oh no, 2026 Cy Young campaign loading…

    Reply
  5. NineChampionships

    18 hours ago

    This trade deadline is crazy.

    4
    Reply
  6. Acoss1331

    18 hours ago

    Not the Yankees or Cubs, did not have the Rays on my bingo card…

    4
    Reply
    • Palehosed85

      18 hours ago

      Agreed. I was definitely concerned that he wouldn’t get traded at all, but I certainly never expected the Rays to be in the picture.

      Hopefully this Aussie kid (Mead) is better than his numbers would suggest, otherwise the return is pretty underwhelming.

      4
      Reply
      • nrd1138

        18 hours ago

        Yeah, but Houser is not exactly an Ace. I mean on this White Sox Roster he may have been close, but on most he is likely a 3/4 starter.. The fact that the Sox got 3 players in return is a bit surprising actually.

        9
        Reply
        • Palehosed85

          18 hours ago

          That’s true. Once the story was updated to say that we got the two pitchers in addition to Mead, I was much more okay with the trade.

          2
          Reply
  7. Joemo

    18 hours ago

    That’s it? Wow……..

    1
    Reply
  8. King. Of. Cards

    18 hours ago

    Why? They gonna trade him again real quick?

    1
    Reply
  9. Motor City Beach Bum

    18 hours ago

    What? Weird trade.

    Reply
  10. swanhenge

    18 hours ago

    Houser > May

    Tf Breslow?

    1
    Reply
  11. Brick House Coffee Tables Inc

    18 hours ago

    That’s a very good return. Mead may end up being only reserve quality, but like Vargas he needs a hundred games of continuous playing time. Tampa was shuttling him back and forth between Tampa and AAA.

    12
    Reply
  12. hottakesonly

    18 hours ago

    Odd but cool

    Reply
  13. AI GM

    18 hours ago

    Fair enough. Didn’t cost either team anything

    Reply
    • AI GM

      18 hours ago

      2 prospects makes this nice quantity return.

      1
      Reply
  14. cwsOverhaul

    18 hours ago

    Light hitting infielder. Getz is obsessed with fringe players like himself…..surprised Houser had zero value to at least get a longshot OF/power prospect with flaws.

    4
    Reply
    • Aiden Awe

      18 hours ago

      At minimum our infield is set for now, not a terrible trade by Getz.

      7
      Reply
      • mohoney

        15 hours ago

        If our infield is set, then…yikes.

        Reply
    • DieSoxWhiteFan

      18 hours ago

      I was hoping for the same thing. Sox need prospect slug, instead it crowds an already crowded infield.

      4
      Reply
    • Emilia

      18 hours ago

      Another Vinny Capra. LOL

      4
      Reply
    • realsox

      18 hours ago

      Apparently Houser had little trade value. How many more unproven infield “prospects” do the Sox need? And if Houser’s trade value was minimal, why not retain him because of the value he’s currently providing the team—he’s contributing considerably to winning games—and isn’t that the whole point?

      1
      Reply
      • avenger65

        17 hours ago

        realsox: That’s exactly the problem with Getz. You get a player that is helping the team, so why not trade him? At what point does it stop?

        1
        Reply
        • mohoney

          15 hours ago

          It stops when there is a change in ownership and real money starts being spent.

          2
          Reply
      • nrd1138

        17 hours ago

        Houser was a FA at the end of the year.. So what? He would help the Sox win 65 games instead of 60?
        You move a guy like that for a lottery ticket or a few, and if you REALLY want him back the Sox can resign him at the end of the year.

        8
        Reply
        • realsox

          15 hours ago

          nrd1138: Your rhetorical question is disingenuous. Would you keep a player who would help you win 70 rather than 65? 75 instead of 70? 80 instead of 75? And so on. What you’re implying is that no player has value to a team unless he can help them win it all. By that standard most players are relatively worthless, and that, of course, is ridiculous. You keep your prospects; I’ll keep the guys who help me win. I agree with you, though, that if they really like him, perhaps they can sign him again at the end of the year.

          Reply
        • nrd1138

          15 hours ago

          You point is pointless in this situation considering the Sox are playing for nothing other than to try to avoid 100 losses. Again the guy is a FA at the end of the season. But hey, they should keep a guy who will do nothing for the future of the team and could be gone at the end of the season, as opposed to trading him for prospects, as fringe as they may be, then maybe resigning him at the end of the season.
          Sorry, taking the latter. This team was never going to amount to anything and they clearly signed Houser to be trade fodder and it worked.

          3
          Reply
      • fisk72

        17 hours ago

        Um, no. Not this season.

        1
        Reply
      • Clevernamehere

        17 hours ago

        The whole reason the White Sox picked him up was to flip him at the trading deadline. He’s been really good for them and they got 3 nothings in return. So White Sox.

        1
        Reply
  15. ChetLemonaid

    18 hours ago

    And Jax? Where am I?

    Reply
  16. dazedatnoon

    18 hours ago

    don’t see much upside here…..hope he can prove me wrong

    1
    Reply
  17. WilB

    18 hours ago

    Rays fan — I’m shocked that we traded for a SP rental, but i’m more shocked that mead was able to return this much. Mead is terrible. Gives us some innings, a little hope (prob misplaced) for a guy that spent most of his time on the bench or AAA.

    1
    Reply
  18. B Thomas

    18 hours ago

    Again folks don’t pay attention at all. Mead was a top 100 prospect for 3 straight years. His numbers in minor league baseball overall 297/371/504 which is an 875 ops. Tampa never gave him more than about 9 at bats a week. Put him at third base and let him play the next 50 games. I’d expect 200 at bats closer to a 800 ops in the majors. That is a plus player

    7
    Reply
    • Palehosed85

      18 hours ago

      Well, that is a much better look to things than what the other guy said about Mead. It really felt like a knee-jerk by Getz initially.

      3
      Reply
    • WilB

      18 hours ago

      Nah Mead had plenty of chances. He has zero power and isnt very quick. best case is he’s a light hitting IF that can play a few positions. Not a bad player, but def a bust pedigree wise.

      4
      Reply
    • kroeg49

      18 hours ago

      Since June 26, Mead has battled 13 times with just 1 hit. I don’t think he’ll ever get close to an 800 ops.

      Reply
      • Dumpster Divin Theo

        17 hours ago

        Yeah bases on my math, 1/13 not equal to 800

        Reply
      • fisk72

        17 hours ago

        SSS.

        1
        Reply
      • B Thomas

        16 hours ago

        13 at bats in 5 weeks yeah that’s a heck of a chance.

        5
        Reply
    • DieSoxWhiteFan

      18 hours ago

      I feel like the Rays are notorious for slappy top ranked foreign infield prospects. Brujan, Franco come to mind. Thing is the Sox just do position players worse than any other team in the majors. I have zero confidence they can allow Mead to live up to any potential. Knowing this team, they will get something special out of Ben Peoples and trade him for lesser value in a couple years.

      3
      Reply
    • Dumpster Divin Theo

      17 hours ago

      Wow, if that’s remotely true- golaza!

      Reply
    • nrd1138

      17 hours ago

      With this Sox org? He is likely not doing a lot. The Sox fan should just be stoked for more pitchers as the org actually know what to do with those guys.

      2
      Reply
  19. Palehosed85

    18 hours ago

    I had to figure that this was just a desperation move by Getz because he couldn’t get a return that he liked from the teams that we thought Houser would be sent to. This way, he can act like he “accomplished” something besides trading Slater. Bummer….

    1
    Reply
    • fermier

      18 hours ago

      Lets just wait and see how this guy works out before declaring the trade a failure.

      7
      Reply
      • Palehosed85

        18 hours ago

        Fair. I like this trade a lot more based upon looking at his minors numbers and because the Sox managed to snag a couple of young arms as well.

        3
        Reply
        • DieSoxWhiteFan

          18 hours ago

          I agree, the arms thrown in are depth pieces. Three “prospects” all be it older, for a guy who was a DFA pick up project is what you want

          4
          Reply
      • Dumpster Divin Theo

        15 hours ago

        No, declare him a failure NOW so he can reconcile his fate to a landscape of diminished expectations: like the nuns did with me in the 4th grade.

        Reply
  20. kroeg49

    18 hours ago

    It’s ridiculous how little Getz is getting for one of the top pitchers available at this trade deadline! I was hoping the White Sox would reach, a still abysmal, 60 win season. Now they won’t approach that number.

    1
    Reply
    • Hammerin' Hank

      12 hours ago

      Come on, he’s got a 17 percent K-rate. He’s back-of-the-rotation fodder.

      Reply
  21. brushbackmlb

    18 hours ago

    So happy to see the 2 minor league pitchers included. When it was reported as just Mead, I was surprised. Ben Peoples has a 2.65 ERA in 35 relief appearances. He could get called up to backfill an opening if the Sox trade a reliever.

    1
    Reply
    • kroeg49

      16 hours ago

      Of course, both minor league pitchers were not amongst the Rays top 30 minor league prospects!

      Reply
  22. nrd1138

    18 hours ago

    Bout time, Im surprised that the White Sox only could move Houser and Slater.. I mean no one wanted Tauchman, Benintendi, Alexander? I mean you will not get a lot sure but aren’t these guys all pretty mcuh gone at the end of the season?

    2
    Reply
    • cwsOverhaul

      17 hours ago

      Paying Tauchman for his last arb year in ’26 is good to have a pro bat approach OF that isn’t blocking anyone. OTOH- Michael A Taylor seemed like a no brainer defensive replacement/speed guy for a contender’s bench. Oh well-the vet pros can help the youth not get comfortable losing with sound play.

      Reply
  23. Dumpster Divin Theo

    17 hours ago

    Wait, that last part of the return would horrify one Charlton Heston: “Soylent Green! It’s Peoples!!!!”

    3
    Reply
    • joe6pack

      17 hours ago

      At least they didnt get one of the “damn dirty apes”!

      2
      Reply
      • Dumpster Divin Theo

        11 hours ago

        The O.G. yell at cloud guy. Didn’t he throw a shoe or something in 10 Commandnents? Or was that Ben Hur?

        Reply
  24. CarvelAndrews

    17 hours ago

    Ben Peoples was great in those RL Stine books as Slappy.

    1
    Reply
  25. Oddvark

    16 hours ago

    I feel like a lot of people in the comments are delusional about Houser’s trade value just because he has a low ERA this season. The fact is he is a pure rental who has a long track record of being a 4+ ERA-guy and his underlying numbers this year aren’t that great despite the low ERA. There’s some value there as a (hopefully above average) innings eater for a couple of months, but a big return was never in the cards.

    1
    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    MLB Trade Tracker: July

    Padres Acquire Mason Miller, JP Sears

    Astros Acquire Carlos Correa

    Rays, Twins Swap Griffin Jax For Taj Bradley

    Padres Acquire Ryan O’Hearn, Ramon Laureano

    Rangers Acquire Merrill Kelly

    Yankees Acquire David Bednar

    Blue Jays Acquire Shane Bieber

    Mets Acquire Cedric Mullins

    Padres Acquire Nestor Cortes

    Last Day To Lock In Savings On Trade Rumors Front Office

    Cubs Acquire Willi Castro

    Tigers Acquire Charlie Morton

    Yankees Acquire Camilo Doval

    Royals Acquire Mike Yastrzemski

    Cubs Designate Ryan Pressly For Assignment

    Blue Jays Acquire Louis Varland, Ty France

    Rangers Acquire Phil Maton

    Astros Acquire Jesús Sánchez

    Brewers Acquire Shelby Miller

    Recent

    Orioles Select Jordyn Adams, Terrin Vavra

    Elias: Elbow Debridement Surgery “On The Table” For Grayson Rodriguez

    Marlins To Select Jakob Marsee

    The Opener: Deadline Fallout, Chourio, Aranda

    MLB Trade Tracker: July

    Padres Acquire Mason Miller, JP Sears

    Astros Acquire Carlos Correa

    Rays, Twins Swap Griffin Jax For Taj Bradley

    Padres Acquire Ryan O’Hearn, Ramon Laureano

    Rangers Acquire Merrill Kelly

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Every MLB Trade In July
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version