Rays acquire Adrian Houser, Griffin Jax in trades

The Tampa Bay Rays acquired starting pitcher Adrian Houser from the Chicago White Sox and reliever Griffin Jax from the Minnesota Twins on Thursday.

The Rays sent right-hander Taj Bradley to Minnesota for Jax.

The White Sox received infielder Curtis Mead from Tampa Bay for Houser, along with prospects Duncan Davitt and Benjamin Peoples.

One of the more intriguing pitcher popups of 2025, Houser began the season with the Texas Rangers‘ Triple-A affiliate, posting a 5.03 ERA in 39 ⅓ innings before being released. The right-hander was soon picked up by the White Sox and inserted into the starting rotation, where he has a 2.10 ERA in 11 starts, of which nine qualify as quality starts.

For the season, Houser, 32, is 6-2 with 47 strikeouts and 22 walks in 68 ⅔ innings pitched.

He has a career record of 38-41 with one save, a 4.00 ERA, 531 strikeouts in 164 regular-season games (115 starts) over nine 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 in 2022, has been one of the top relievers in baseball this season — the best by xFIP and toward the top in other, similar metrics. The right-hander’s sweeper-heavy arsenal induces as much swing-and-miss as anyone, with him posting the fifth-highest strikeout rate in the majors among pitchers with at least 40 innings this season.

Jax has 72 strikeouts and just 13 walks this season.

Jax, who is under club control through the end of the 2027 season, has been a constant presence as the setup man for closer Jhoan Duran, who was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. The right-hander has 21 holds, but he lacks closing experience with just three career saves (and 24 blown saves).

The 24-year-old Bradley, who doesn’t reach free agency until after the 2029 season, was optioned to Triple-A Durham on July 24. Once a top pitching prospect, the right-hander is 6-6 with a 4.61 ERA this season.

His stuff has exceeded his performance over his three major league seasons, but he has struggled with consistency. He has good fastball velocity (96 mph), a tremendous cutter and a splitter that, when it’s on, can be devastating.

The Rays didn’t have a strong desire to move the right-hander, but with Drew Rasmussen, Ryan Pepiot, Shane Baz and Joe Boyle all pitching well, and ace Shane McClanahan out on a rehabilitation assignment, Tampa Bay entertained the idea of trading its former top prospect, whose strikeout rate has dropped significantly this season.

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel contributed to this report.