Remember Adrian Houser? Journeyman righthander, was an NRI with the Rangers last spring, had a good camp, made eight starts and a relief appearance for Round Rock (with a 5.03 ERA) before opting out of
his deal to join the Chicago White Sox rotation?
Well, he reportedly has agreed to terms on a two year, $22 million deal with the San Francisco Giants, in what I’m guessing is the strangest deal we will see this offseason.
Houser made 11 starts for the ChiSox after leaving the Rangers last season, putting up a 2.10 ERA despite striking out just 6.2 batters per 9. He did this largely on the strength of allowing just three homers in the 68 innings he threw for Chicago, and despite allowing a 3.98 xERA. He was acquired by the Rays at the trade deadline and put up a 4.79 ERA for Tampa in 56 innings over 10 starts, with his xERA staying pretty steady, at 4.09 for the Rays.
It was the most success season that Houser, who turns 33 in February, has had in his career, as he put up the second most innings he’s had in the majors (125) and his best fWAR and bWAR. He’d had a couple of decent seasons for the Brewers in 2019 and 2021, but from 2022-24 he posted a 4.76 ERA and a -0.7 bWAR. Houser’s 4.05 xERA for 2025 was the best of his career despite allowing a lot of hard contact and not missing bats. His whiff rate was in the 4th percentile in 2025, his hard hit rate was in the 5th percentile, and his K rate was in the 16th percentile.
Houser had success by generating a ton of ground balls and not walking many batters, which, well, is pretty much what he’s done his entire career, though his walk rate did improve by about 25% from the prior year. His pitch mix was pretty much the same as previous. His slider had a little less break and was much harder to hit in 2025 than 2024. His velocity was up a couple of ticks in 2025. But overall, he appears to be not that much different than the pitcher he was after the 2024 season, when he got a minor league deal with an invite to major league camp.
Two years at $22 million? Its befuddling. I’m befuddled. Gobsmacked, even. Good for him, and good job by his agent.
But yeah, this is the weirdest deal of the offseason so far, and I’m willing to bet it is the weirdest one we see all offseason.
