Chicago White Sox trade pitcher Adrian Houser at the deadline — but Luis Robert Jr. stays put

Chicago White Sox general manager Chris Getz heard from teams expressing interest in center fielder Luis Robert Jr.

“There was an effort to acquire him, but certainly it wasn’t to the level we felt met the mark for us to move on from a talent like Luis Robert,” Getz said. “We just didn’t feel like it made any sense for us.”

Robert remained with the Sox as the trade deadline passed Thursday. But Getz did make one move, sending starting pitcher Adrian Houser to the Tampa Bay Rays for infielder Curtis Mead and minor-league right-handers Duncan Davitt and Ben Peoples.

Robert and Houser were the two most discussed Sox players in trade speculation leading up to the deadline.

Robert began the season in a funk at the plate but looked more like himself in July, hitting .353 with three home runs and 11 RBIs.

“You look at what he’s done in the last month or so, he’s impacting the game in so many different ways, which speaks to the talent that he has,” Getz said. “We believe in Luis Robert. We just love Luis Robert, we do.”

Overall he’s slashing .213/.300/.353 with 11 home runs and 43 RBIs in 88 games this season. Robert has been a threat when he reaches, ranking fifth in the American League with 27 stolen bases.

His current contract includes $20 million club options for 2026 and 2027 with $2 million buyouts.

“We anticipate him being here,” Getz said. “If we felt otherwise, maybe we go a different course.”

Both trades the Sox made over the past 48 hours involved AL East clubs. They sent outfielder Austin Slater to the New York Yankees for minor-league pitcher Gage Ziehl on Wednesday.

Houser had a dazzling 2.10 ERA with a 6-2 record, 47 strikeouts and 22 walks in 11 starts since signing a one-year deal May 20. He joined the Sox after making nine appearances (eight starts) with Triple-A Round Rock in the Texas Rangers organization.

He had a 5.84 ERA in 2024 with the New York Mets, going 1-5 in 23 appearances (seven starts). The 32-year-old is in his ninth big-league season.

“More than anything, he deserves all the credit,” Getz said. “But I was also very proud of us identifying him and being able to get as much as we did out of Adrian Houser.

“To think we were able to find three players we feel like could be part of our major-league club in the near future, that’s pretty remarkable work overall. Grateful for what Adrian has done in a White Sox uniform.”

Mead, 24, had a .226/.318/.339 slash line with three home runs and eight RBIs in 49 games for the Rays this season. He has played first base (19 games), second base (17) and third base (seven) this year.

During parts of seven seasons in the minor leagues, Mead had a .297/.371/.504 slash line with 120 doubles, 57 home runs, 235 RBIs, 152 walks and 258 runs. The Philadelphia Phillies originally signed him as a free agent in May 2018 before trading him to the Rays in June 2019 for left-hander Cristopher Sánchez.

Mead came into 2024 as the No. 55 prospect in baseball and was No. 33 entering the 2023 season. He was on the AL roster in the 2022 All-Star Futures Game.

“He was a high-profile player, top prospect for a while,” Getz said. “Thought very highly of throughout the industry. He’s not the first player that’s had some major-league struggles early on. He has been productive, but based on what he’s done in the minor leagues, we feel like there’s more in the tank.”

Davitt, 25, is 5-5 with a 4.08 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 19 starts between Triple-A Durham and Double-A Montgomery this season.

Peoples, 24, is 2-2 with a 2.65 ERA, .189 opponents average and 39 strikeouts in 25 relief appearances with Durham.

In Davitt and Peoples, Getz said the Sox received “two arms we feel that have a chance to help in multiple roles.”

The Sox optioned Mead and assigned Davitt and Peoples to Triple-A Charlotte.

In evaluating the trade deadline as a whole, Getz said: “You never know how things are going to unravel and unfold. We had a fair amount of players that were asked about in deals, but we felt it was best to keep the players that were not traded. There were opportunities to invest into this organization for the future in the trades that were made.”