CHICAGO – The White Sox traded right-handed pitcher Adrian Houser to the Rays Thursday for infielder Curtis Mead and Minor League right-handers Duncan Davitt and Ben Peoples, a little more than one day after they sent outfielder Austin Slater to the Yankees for right-hander Gage Ziehl.
But it was who they didn’t trade drawing just as much attention as Thursday’s deadline passed at 5 p.m. CT. Luis Robert Jr., the team’s five-tool talent center fielder who many people figured would be practicing his craft for another team, will be in the White Sox starting lineup when they begin a six-game West Coast road trip Friday night in Anaheim.
There’s a strong chance the 27-year-old will be with the White Sox beyond the ‘25 season.
“We anticipate him being here, we do,” said White Sox general manager Chris Getz during a Thursday evening Zoom. “If we felt otherwise, maybe we go a different course.”
Robert has $20 million club options for each of the ‘26 and ‘27 seasons, with a $2 million buyout. The White Sox have left fielder Andrew Benintendi’s $17.1 million on the payroll for next season but not much more, so keeping Robert certainly wouldn’t break the budget regardless of where it’s set.
His showing during July reinforced what an important component Robert would be in this ongoing rebuild moving toward contention. Robert produced one of the most complete seasons in White Sox history during the ‘23 campaign, but had a sub-standard effort in a ‘24 season plagued by injuries and then struggled for the first three months this season.
During his big July, a month in which the White Sox closed with an 8-4 run after the All-Star break, Robert slashed .353/.441/.549 with three home runs, 11 RBIs, 13 runs scored and five stolen bases.
“It starts with Luis and how we feel about him,” Getz said. “You look at what he’s done in the last month or so, and he’s impacting the game in so many different ways, which speaks to the talent he has. We believe in Luis Robert.
“Other teams have identified him as a guy that can help their club and there was an effort to acquire him, but certainly it wasn’t to the level we felt like could have met the mark for us to make a move on from a talent like Luis Robert.
“What he does defensively, offensively, what he’s capable of doing and certainly on the basepaths … ,” Getz added. “We just love Luis Robert. We do.”
Getz was equally happy with the players added in the Houser trade Thursday. He started by praising Houser for his 2.10 ERA put together over 11 starts since joining the White Sox, while also praising the organization for not only finding Houser, but making the needed adjustments for greater effectiveness.
Two months of Houser produced Mead, 24, the native of Adelaide, Australia, who is slashing .226/.318/.339 with three homers, eight RBIs and 14 runs scored in 49 games for Tampa Bay this season. He has played second base, third base, first base and one game at shortstop.
TRADE DETAILS
Rays receive: RHP Adrian Houser
White Sox receive: IF Curtis Mead, RHPs Duncan Davitt and Ben Peoples
“It’s not too dissimilar than about a year ago when we made the deal to bring Miguel Vargas in,” said Getz of Mead, who was a Top 100 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, going into the ‘24 season. “A high profile player that hadn’t really translated or taken at the Major League level.
“Through his continued development, [Vargas] has now become a productive Major League player. We feel Curtis can do the same thing. Most importantly it’s about the next two months of work, going into the offseason and seeing where we are at come Spring Training with Curtis.”
Mead, Davitt and Peoples will report to Triple-A Charlotte, with Davitt working as a starter and Peoples staying in a relief role. Mead is the only one of these three added to the 40-man roster.
Getz and the White Sox front office entered Thursday with an open mind, fielding interest on players such as veteran outfielder Mike Tauchman, who has been so valuable to this young team on and off the field. Those inquiries didn’t meet the standard set for a return by the White Sox, similar to Robert’s situation.
“You never know how things will unfold,” Getz said. “We had a fair amount of players asked about in deals. But we felt it was best to certainly keep the players who were not traded.
“We’re open to adding to this team this offseason. I expect to do that. The most valuable thing here is having Luis Robert part of the equation, part of our lineup on a regular basis and we’re excited about that.”
