White Sox rumors: Chicago nearing deal with former Brewers, Mets pitcher

The Chicago White Sox are working on a deal with right-handed pitcher Adrian Houser, FanSided’s Robert Murray first reported. Financial terms are not yet known.

Houser has yet to pitch in the Major Leagues in 2025 and the Texas Rangers released him last week. He had appeared in nine games at Triple-A Round Rock, starting eight of them, and putting up pedestrian numbers. Houser went 2-2 with a 5.03 ERA, striking out 37 batters in 39.1 innings.

That may not tell the whole story, however. He also had a 22.8% strikeout rate and 57.3% ground-ball rate, indicating he might be better than his ERA would have you believe.

The 32-year-old last pitched for the New York Mets in 2024, going 1-5 with a 5.84 ERA over 69.1 innings. Houser has spent part of eight seasons in the Majors, primarily with the Milwaukee Brewers. His best season was 2019, his first full year in the big leagues. He started 18 games and made 31 appearances, throwing to a 3.72 ERA in 111.1 innings. His 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings that year are a career best.

FutureSox’s James Fox first reported the White Sox had interest in Houser over the weekend, pointing out that he has familiarity with Chicago bench coach Walker McKinven from McKinven’s days in the Brewers organization.

Once the two sides finalize the deal, it’s possible that Houser will head right to Chicago to pitch for the White Sox. The team could also assign him to Triple-A Charlotte if there’s not an immediate need.

As it stands, the White Sox are 14-33, good for last place in the AL Central, but somehow representing an improvement over a disastrous 2024 season. Their starting pitching has actually been fairly solid given their record, but their bullpen is desperate for some help. Coming into Monday, White Sox relievers have a 4.62 ERA (25th in MLB) and have walked 90 batters, which ranks second in the league.