Sitting at the bottom of the AL Central, the Chicago White Sox approached the trade deadline as sellers. Despite this mentality, it was a fairly quiet deadline for the team, with only two trades completed prior to the deadline.
The White Sox sent outfielder Austin Slater to the New York Yankees on July 30 in exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Gage Ziehl.
Then just an hour or so before the deadline, the White Sox also sent veteran starting pitcher Adrian Houser to the Rays for infielder Curtis Mead, and right-handed pitchers Duncan Davitt and Ben Peoples.
It has been less than a week since these deals went down, and the Yankees and Rays could already be having some buyer's remorse.
Austin Slater is already injured for the Yankees
Austin Slater had a solid first half with the White Sox, especially against left-handed pitching.
Despite missing several weeks with a knee injury back in April and May, Slater accomplished exactly what the White Sox were looking for in a rental platoon bat.
After the trade, however, he began his Yankees career 0-for-7, and was just placed on the Injured List with a hamstring strain.
It’s a less than ideal start for Slater, who the Yankees hoped would provide some stability in the lineup in the midst of their free fall, but hasn’t yet made a meaningful contribution.
Gage Ziehl allowed two earned runs over 4.1 innings in his debut with the White Sox organization for the Winston-Salem Dash (High-A) this week. Should Ziehl amount to anything for the White Sox, it will end up being a great deal in exchange for a rental player set to depart in free agency.
The Yankees will hope that Slater can get back on the field quickly and contribute to their playoff hopes.
Adrian Houser had a rough first start for the Rays
Adrian Houser made his Rays debut on Monday night against the Angels, and it wasn’t the debut the Rays would’ve hoped.
Despite never allowing more than three earned runs in any of his starts with the White Sox, Houser surrendered five earned runs on 11 hits and took the loss on Monday.
He still holds a solid 2.57 ERA for the season, but his first start with the Rays was his worst so far this year, and his underlying numbers suggest that some regression could be coming.
Curtis Mead played two games in Charlotte this weekend and reached base in seven (7) out of 10 plate appearances before being called up to Chicago on Sunday. A former top-100 prospect as recently as 2024, the White Sox know there’s potential in Mead that needs to be unlocked.
Throw in Duncan Davitt and Ben Peoples, two quality arms that are already at the Triple-A level, and it seems like a hefty price for Houser.
Houser will also be a free agent at the end of the season, and with the Rays quickly falling out of the playoff race, they may soon regret giving up as much as they did for him to just make a few starts.
The trade deadline is aging well for White Sox GM Chris Getz
Chris Getz’s deadline moves looked solid at the time, and they’ve only gotten more valid with the early struggles of Slater and Houser in their new homes.
Things are certainly looking up for the White Sox, and it’s nice to not immediately feel burned by deadline moves.
Chris Getz has developed the reputation of a hard negotiator, and that skill may be paying off.