The Chicago White Sox may not be having a good season, but they aren’t as bad as they were last year or nearly as bad as the Colorado Rockies this season.
At 31-62, the White Sox need to focus on the future and acquire as many assets as possible for veteran players.
Centerfielder Luis Robert Jr. has been in trade rumors for years at this point, but Robert hasn’t been the same player he was in 2023.
Robert is as talented as they get, but he has just eight home runs and 32 RBI while slashing .185/.272/.311 in 75 games this season.
The best veteran asset on the White Sox may be right-hander Adrian Houser.
Houser, 32, has had a phenomenal season since signing with Chicago on May 20. In his first start against the Seattle Mariners, Houser pitched six shutout innings in a 1-0 win.
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Through nine starts, Houser is 5-2 with a 1.56 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He has three straight winning decisions against the San Francisco Giants, Colorado Rockies and Toronto Blue Jays.
Houser went seven innings allowing just one run on seven hits and two walks against Toronto on Wednesday.
With the trade deadline just three weeks away, former Major League Baseball executive and current writer for The Athletic Jim Bowden answered 25 trade deadline questions, including one about a return for Houser.
“The return in a Houser trade would likely be two mid-level prospects with some risk and possible reward,” wrote Bowden.
Two mid-level prospects don’t sound like a lot, but it could be and the White Sox would be cashing in on a guy who hasn’t been good in three years.
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