CHICAGO – Few expected Adrian Houser to pitch at this high of a level in 2025, aside from perhaps Houser himself.

After posting a 5.84 ERA last season with the New York Mets as a starter and a reliever, Houser began the 2025 season with the Texas Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate. But the White Sox took a chance on him in May, signing him to a one-year, $1.35 million contract.

White Sox general manager Chris Getz initially spoke of Houser as a long-term piece to help a starting rotation that faced a lengthy injury to Martín Pérez and had several young pitchers on pace to blow past their career-high inning totals.

“He should help us navigate the remainder of the season if he can have productive outings like he did last time,” Getz said on May 23, after Houser’s first start.

But Houser has pitched so well since then, that Getz’s approach may change. Through his first eight starts and 50.2 innings with the White Sox, Houser has a 1.60 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. Only four pitchers in MLB have a lower ERA and WHIP than Houser since his first appearance on May 20: Ranger Suarez, Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal and Zack Wheeler.

That’s made Houser an attractive piece for contending teams, especially since he won’t cost a ton as a rental. But with young starters like Shane Smith, Jonathan Cannon, Davis Martin and Sean Burke all on pace to pitch the most innings of their careers, Getz is also considering the value of keeping Houser.

“I definitely want to protect our young arms,” Getz said Monday in Chicago. “That was the, quite honestly, the motivation in acquiring Adrian Houser and [Aaron] Civale. To be able to give guys extra days rest or if someone gets nicked up and needs to go on the IL for a little bit, we could have someone like step where we could have someone step up and fill those quality innings.”

While Houser, 32, could help the White Sox in the short term, they may view trading him as the better long-term play. He’s a free agent after the season, and his stock is perhaps as high as its ever been. The White Sox have the second-worst record in MLB at 30-61, making them a logical candidate to trade veterans and continue building toward the future ahead of the July 31 deadline.

“Now, when it comes to the upcoming deadline, first and foremost, it’s my job to continue to build this organization, and have this, I would say, long-term view,” Getz said. “But weighing the protection of these young arms and perhaps acquiring some future assets that they can help you win some games in the future. It’s not a straightforward answer. It isn’t.”

“You look at our minor league system and you look at Tanner McDougal, who’s really taken some strides. And Davis Martin, he’ll be back here shortly. He’s going to have a rehab out in Charlotte this week. And you look at the potential acquisitions that you can make with some of the deals as well, and perhaps it’s an arm that can help you right away. So we’ve got some time to, to work through it. First and foremost, we’re really focused on the draft right now, and then we’ll turn the page and get ready for the deadline.”