Nothing stirs the rumor mill quite like a late-scratch lineup move just before the trade deadline.
Chicago White Sox pitcher Adrian Houser was originally scheduled to start Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Phillies, but he was removed from the lineup due to non-injury reasons and replaced by Tyler Alexander. With the trade deadline just over 24 hours away, Jon Heyman of the New York Post stated on X (formerly Twitter) that the move likely signals Houser will soon be dealt.
“He hasn’t been traded yet but they’re holding him out in anticipation of a deal by 6 pm et tomorrow,” Heyman reported.
White Sox Scratch Adrian Houser From Start ‘In Anticipation of a Deal’
As for where Houser will be headed, perhaps the framework for a trade began to be hammered out during discussions that spawned an earlier transaction.
On Wednesday morning, the New York Yankees acquired outfielder Austin Slater from the White Sox in exchange for right-handed pitcher Gage Ziehl, the team’s No. 18 prospect. The move provides the Yankees with some right-handed hitting depth in the outfield, which became more of a need with the recent news that Aaron Judge will likely stick at DH when he returns from injury.
But it does nothing to satisfy New York’s biggest need.
“I think their focus is pitching, pitching, pitching,” MLB network’s Joel Sherman said on Tuesday. “They’d love to get at least one starter, two would be perfect.”
Houser would make a lot of sense, and interestingly, Robert Murray of FanSided erroneously reported in the immediate moments after the Slater trade that the Yankees had actually acquired Houser from the White Sox, a mistake that he quickly acknowledged.
Perhaps it was foreshadowing.
Adrian Houser Cited as ‘A Perfect Fit’ For New York Yankees Staff
ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reported that the Yankees did have scouts at Houser’s most recent start, when he gave up five hits and three runs in 6.2 innings to beat the Cubs on July 25. Peyton Crowder of the FanSided blog “Yanks Go Yard” also recently suggested that Houser “could be a perfect fit for the Yankees.”
“Given that the White Sox will no doubt be intent on selling at the deadline, looking to pounce on one of their few prized possessions could be a good move for the Yankees,” Crowder wrote. “It’s a bonus he wouldn’t cost much. The Bronx Bombers would, at most, have to give up two or three mid-tier prospects. That’s especially important since proposed deals with other ball clubs would cost the Yankees much more, with several teams already courting top prospects Spencer Jones, George Lombard Jr., and Can [sic] Schlittler.”
In fact, Rogers opined that perhaps Houser could be had for even less than the “two or three mid-tier prospects” that Crowder proposed.
“The Sox would love a 10th-to-20th-ranked prospect from an opposing organization’s farm system for him; though, teams are likely to lean toward the lower end of that instead of what Chicago prefers, closer to the higher end,” Rogers indicated.
Cited as a potential “hidden gem” at the upcoming trade deadline, Houser has made quite the impact for the White Sox in a short time.
Released in mid-May after he had agreed to a minor-league deal with the Texas Rangers, Houser was signed to a 1-year, $1.35 million contract by Chicago on May 20. In 11 starts, the 32-year-old right-hander has gone 6-2 with a 2.10 ERA, striking out 47 batters in 68.2 innings.
Sounds exactly like what the Yankees need.
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