Jack's Take: Chicago White Sox, Cubs Make Sense As Trade Partners

CHICAGO –– Adrian Houser has been riding high lately.

With seven scoreless innings in Saturday's 1-0 win over the Giants, his ERA dropped to 1.90 through seven starts with the White Sox. It's been something of a career resurgence for the 32-year-old right-hander, who began the season in Triple-A before signing a one-year, $1.35 million deal with the White Sox in May.

It's been a big month on and off the field. Prior to his fifth quality start in six tries last week in Toronto, Houser was briefly away from the team to welcome the birth of his child. The Tahlequa, Okla. native has also walked around the White Sox clubhouse lately in a blue Shai Gilgeous-Alexander jersey, celebrating the Oklahoma City Thunder's NBA championship.

That's made for one of the best stretches of his nine-year MLB career.

"Probably, yeah," he said after shutting down the Giants. "As far as mechanically and everything that I've put into the work I did in the offseason, I'd say I'm definitely in a better spot, feeling a lot better. I put a pretty good run in there in '21. So it's up there."

Houser's success has exceeded expectations, at least at this high of a level, given his 5.84 ERA last season in 69.1 innings with the New York Mets. But as a veteran on a one-year contract with a 28-56 rebuilding White Sox team –– an obvious seller ahead of the July 31 trade deadline –– Houser has always been logical candidate to be dealt.

General manager Chris Getz said as much last Monday in Chicago.

"Any move we made –– whether it be Houser or [Aaron] Civale, because those are obvious examples –– the biggest value is being able to protect some of our young arms," Getz said. "But also knowing there was some upside in acquiring those players, that perhaps they could help us at the deadline."

So instead of Thunder blue for Houser, perhaps his next jersey could be Cubs blue. The crosstown rivals make perfect sense as trade partners for a few reasons, and they haven't been afraid of making trades in recent years.

Houser's trade value is nearing an all-time personal high. There might be some benefit in keeping him around to mentor a young White Sox pitching staff, but the White Sox are still a few years away from competing. So unless they believe Houser can pitch well into his mid-to-late 30s, flipping him for prospects is likely the better route.

It's also a logical deal from the Cubs' perspective. With Justin Steele out for the season, they clearly need another starting pitcher and bullpen help. Slotting Houser into a mid-rotation starting role would allow the Cubs to move Colin Rea, Ben Brown or Cade Horton to the bullpen and boost the pitching staff in multiple ways.

Houser's an unrestricted free agent after the season, so he wouldn't cost a ton in trade capital either. The White Sox farm system is stronger from a pitching standpoint than a hitting standpoint, and it's the opposite for the Cubs, yet another reason their needs could match up at the deadline.

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer may also look at the White Sox and see another piece or two that could improve his roster on the margins. If for some reason a Houser deal wouldn't work out, right-hander Davis Martin is another starting pitcher the Cubs may be attracted to.

Though Martin was placed on the injured list on June 20 (retroactive to June 17) with a right forearm strain, he spoke Wednesday of potentially returning just before or after the All-Star break. Martin had a 3.79 ERA in 80.2 innings before the injury, which he considered "probably the best I've felt in my career." Houser would be a rental, but Martin could cost more, as he doesn't become an unrestricted free agent until after the 2030 season.

As for the bullpen, White Sox right-hander Steven Wilson is having the best season of his career with a 1.73 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP and 25 strikeouts in 26 innings. Hard-throwing left-hander Cam Booser posted eight scoreless appearances in nine tries before giving up two earned runs on June 19 and hitting the injured list with a shoulder strain the next day.

Right-hander Dan Altavilla has the second-lowest ERA among White Sox at 1.84, only behind Wilson. All three are at least 30 years old, so the White Sox might be more willing to part ways with them as they rebuild. The Cubs may prefer to make a bigger move for a frontline starter or a closer, but if nothing comes to fruition in that regard, the White Sox have a few pieces to offer.

And what about a Cubs reunion for Mike Tauchman? The 34-year-old outfielder has played just 32 games due to hamstring and groin injuries, but he's posted career-highs with a .281 batting average and a .371 on-base percentage.

The Cubs outfield is crowded with talent in Kyle Tucker, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki, but they could use a left-handed bat off the bench. Tauchman would be an upgrade over current pinch-hitters like Justin Turner, Vidal Brujan and Jon Berti, though he doesn't have the same infield positional versatility.

Getz expects to be "fairly active" ahead of the July 31 trade deadline. And with a few White Sox veterans performing well, the two Chicago teams could help each other out.