Blue Jays trade deadline target: Adrian Houser

There are many uncertainties in a Major League Baseball season, but players being traded away from bottom-feeders like the Chicago White Sox is one of the inescapable certainties these last few years.

With the trade deadline looming, the White Sox might be preparing to deal a few more arms from their rotation.

At least two of their starting pitchers — Adrian Houser and Aaron Civale — are practically destined to be playing for another team later this week. With a severe lack of top-tier starting pitchers on the market this year, teams may pivot to mid-rotation arms to fill out their starting rotations for a second-half playoff push.

Maybe it’s a rare case of discovering some South Side of Chicago magic, but the White Sox seem to have unlocked something with Houser here. Since joining their starting rotation on May 20, Houser owns a 2.10 ERA with nine quality starts in his first 11 games with the White Sox.

Compared to even a few weeks ago, the Blue Jays’ rotation plans look solid for now, but would they benefit from adding a depth starter like Houser to their starting rotation? Let’s look into Houser’s scouting report and contract situation to determine whether he’d be a fit for the AL East-leading Blue Jays.

Scouting report

The Blue Jays witnessed firsthand just how effective Houser can be as a starting pitcher. On June 22, Houser tossed 6.1 innings of two-run ball against the Blue Jays in what was his fifth quality start in six games since he joined the White Sox on May 20.

Then Houser came back and was even better against the Blue Jays on July 9 at Rogers Centre, with seven innings of one-run ball, which was the game that halted the Blue Jays’ 10-game win streak. Houser’s only mistake that game came in the form of a walk and a wild pitch to Myles Straw, which bit Houser the very next batter on an RBI single to Tyler Heineman.

I considered Houser for my Top 6 rental starting pitcher targets, but kept him off the list for a few reasons. At 8%, Houser’s walk rate is among the highest of the starting pitchers available on the market. Houser also doesn’t strike out many batters at 17.1%, which is the 24th lowest among starting pitchers with 60+ innings this year.

It’s a small sample size on the year for Houser since he got a late start, but he has nine quality starts in 11 games for the White Sox. That’s found money for one of the worst teams in the majors, who could turn Houser into quality prospects in return at the trade deadline.

Contract situation

Houser initially signed with the Texas Rangers as a free agent last December on a minor league deal. He failed to break camp with the Rangers out of spring training, so Houser spent the first month and a half of the season in triple-A with the Round Rock Express.

The Rangers released Houser on May 15, and then the Chicago White Sox turned around five days later and signed him to a big league deal worth $1.35 million, but because it’s pro-rated, he’ll earn somewhere in the $961,000 range on this contract. Houser is a free agent at the end of this year, so he’s a rental to any potential suitor out there.