2 days ago
4
ESPN
Jul 31, 2025, 06:01 PM ET
The Tampa Bay Rays are acquiring starting pitcher Adrian Houser from the Chicago White Sox and reliever Griffin Jax from the Minnesota Twins, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan connected Thursday.
One of the much intriguing pitcher popups of 2025, Houser began the play with the Texas Rangers' Triple-A affiliate, posting a 5.03 ERA successful 39 1/3 innings earlier being released. The right-hander was soon picked up by the White Sox and inserted into the starting rotation, wherever helium has a 2.10 ERA successful 11 starts, of which 9 suffice arsenic prime starts.
For the season, Houser, 32, is 6-2 with 47 strikeouts and 22 walks successful 68 2/3 innings pitched.
He has a vocation grounds of 38-41 with 1 save, a 4.00 ERA, 531 strikeouts successful 164 regular-season games (115 starts) implicit 9 MLB seasons with the White Sox, Brewers and Mets.
Despite a 4.50 ERA that says otherwise, the 30-year-old Jax, who moved from the Twins' rotation to the bullpen successful 2022, has been 1 of the apical relievers successful shot this play -- the champion by xFIP and toward the apical successful other, akin metrics. The right-hander's sweeper-heavy arsenal induces arsenic overmuch swing-and-miss arsenic anyone, with him posting the fifth-highest strikeout complaint successful the majors among pitchers with astatine slightest 40 innings this season.
Jax has 72 strikeouts and conscionable 13 walks this season.
Jax, who is nether nine power done the extremity of the 2027 season, has been a changeless beingness arsenic the setup antheral for person Jhoan Duran, who was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies connected Wednesday. The right-hander has 21 holds, but helium lacks closing acquisition with conscionable 3 vocation saves (and 24 blown saves).
ESPN's Kiley McDaniel contributed to this report.
