CHICAGO –– Thursday’s MLB trade deadline came with several blockbuster moves involving relief pitchers.

Perhaps most notably, the San Diego Padres acquired Athletics reliever Mason Miller, a 26-year-old who throws over 100 mph and is under team control through 2029 after making the 2024 All-Star team and finishing fourth in American League Rookie of the Year voting last season. Miller and starter JP Sears came with a hefty price tag, though, as San Diego dealt MLB’s No. 3 overall prospect, shortstop Leo De Vries, along with the organization’s No. 3, No. 13 and No. 17 prospects.

The Phillies also made a big move to acquire Twins closer Jhoan Duran, who cost Philadelphia its No. 2 and No. 4 prospects. Pittsburgh Pirates closer David Bendar and St. Louis Cardinals close Ryan Helsley represented significant trades, too.

With relief pitchers in such high demand, White Sox general manager Chris Getz received calls about Grant Taylor. While the rookie right-hander is far less proven at the major league level than Miller, Duran, Bednar and Helsley, the former second-round pick with high upside, a 100 mph fastball and effective off-speed pitches could have brought back a nice return.

But Getz stuck to his plan going into the deadline and did not trade Taylor.

“When you have a guy like Grant Taylor and what he’s capable of doing and has shown, it gets attention,” Getz said. “Teams check in, there’s always curiosity if a player is going to be available. Not a player going into the deadline that I said, ‘Let’s try to move this guy.’ That just wasn’t the case. It wasn’t. Now you look at the rationality or perhaps the irrationality of deals that are made for top-end relievers, it is fascinating.”

Taylor, 23, made his major league debut on June 10 against the Houston Astros after being promoted from Double-A Birmingham without having pitched at the Triple-A level. He’s been used as an opener twice but more frequently as a high-leverage reliever, recording three saves in his first 17 appearances.

Across 20.1 innings, Taylor has a 4.43 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP with seven walks and 27 strikeouts. The statistic FIP (fielding independent pitching) –– which, per MLB, focuses solely on the events a pitcher has the most control over, such strikeouts, walks, hit-by-pitches and home runs, and entirely removes results on balls hit into the field of play –– suggests the rookie has pitched incredibly well.

Taylor ranks first among MLB pitchers with at least 20 innings with a 1.47 FIP. Phillies closer Jose Alvarado ranked second at 1.84 prior to his injury, followed by All-Star relievers Randy Rodriguez (1.87) and Adrian Morejon (1.89) and AL Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal (1.93).

Along with Taylor’s intriguing performances as a rookie, the White Sox believe he has potential as a starting pitcher. He began the season starting games in Double-A before moving to the bullpen. The decision was based around managing his innings due to his injury history while also identifying ways he could contribute to the major league team.

“You look at Grant Taylor and just getting his major-league career started, we haven’t closed the door on him being a future starter, we haven’t,” Getz said. “He’s really settling in in the bullpen, clearly. We’ve used him multiple roles, whether it be openers or to close games, or leverage moments. He’s really allowed us to just have a bullpen that’s really become pretty solid for us here recently. You do look around the league and some of the transactions made, it’s entertaining, it is. But when it comes to Grant Taylor, we weren’t going to move Grant Taylor.”