Adrian Houser had an impressive start against the Chicago Cubs Friday night, holding one of the top offenses in baseball to three runs in 6.2 innings. The veteran right-hander has shockingly become an attractive asset for the Chicago White Sox at the trade deadline and they couldn’t have asked for a better audition as Houser has definitely gotten on Jed Hoyer’s radar.

The Cubs’ starting rotation is running on fumes after the group was able to survive the first half without Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga for long periods of time. Jameson Taillon hasn’t pitched since the end of June and he’s barely getting back into action next week, when he’s scheduled to throw a live bullpen before beginning a rehab assignment at Triple-A. If all goes well, Taillon will be back in the middle of August. The same goes for Javier Assad, who hasn’t pitched for the Cubs all season after going down in spring training with an oblique injury and then suffering a setback in April.

Colin Rea has done a good job filling in at the back-end of the rotation all things considered, but the Cubs know he’s better suited in spot starts and as a swingman out of the bullpen rather than making 20+ starts in a season. The Cubs haven’t shown much confidence in Jordan Wicks and Ben Brown has been crushed most of the year as well. The front office knows it, the coaches know it, the players know it, the fans have been demanding it, the Cubs need rotation help as soon as possible.

Cubs interested in Adrian Houser

Adrian Houser isn’t among the household names in this year’s trade market, but he’s been pitching like an ace for the White Sox since he joined the organization back in May. The 32-year-old now has a 2.10 ERA in 11 starts following his win against the Cubs Friday night. Houser has given the White Sox an unexpected opportunity to add talent at the trade deadline, suddenly becoming a sought-after starter despite being relegated to Triple-A with the Texas Rangers at the start of the 2025 season.

According to The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney, the Cubs are now in the mix for the righty, intrigued by Houser’s new-found mechanics and increased velocity with the White Sox.

The Cubs need to add multiple arms before the trade deadline passes and Houser would certainly be welcomed to the north side of Chicago. As a staff, Cubs’ starting pitchers rank 15th overall with a 4.03 ERA this season. Houser has nine quality starts under his belt so far in 2025, and has yet to allow more than three earned runs in any game.

Houser’s former manager may be the key to push the Cubs into trading for him within the next week.

Reunion with Craig Counsell in the cards for Houser?

Houser pitched in parts of seven seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers. Most of his MLB success has come with Craig Counsell as his manager. Houser wasn’t pitching to a sub-2 ERA, but he was a steady contributor in Milwaukee, recording a 4.02 ERA in 127 games from 2018-23.

Counsell has been more involved in roster construction following his first year as Cubs’ manager and he can definitely sway the front office on specific players. That includes Houser, who was part of the organization last year, when he signed a minor league deal with the Cubs, and is now once again part of discussions in the front office.

Via The Athletic: Has Chicago’s front office asked Counsell for his opinion on Houser? “Well, he was a Cub last year,” Counsell said, “so we’ve talked about him frequently over the last couple years.” But in the context of this trade deadline? “Yeah,” Counsell said, “we talked about a lot of players. Yes. Yes.”

Houser wouldn’t be the first player with connections to Counsell to join the Cubs this year. Veteran reliever Drew Pomeranz was acquired in a small trade with the Seattle Mariners back in April, while Rea was signed in the offseason. Both pitchers were with the Brewers when Counsell was still the manager in Milwaukee.

The Cubs have had success with under the radar acquisitions throughout the year and while fans are focused on bigger targets like Joe Ryan, Edward Cabrera, and Mitch Keller among others, Houser may turn out to be a savvy add at the trade deadline.