Adrian Houser DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Free-agent right-hander Adrian Houser signed a minor-league deal with the Texas Rangers on Saturday. Houser will head to the American League after spending the 2024 campaign with the New York Mets. Houser appeared in 23 games (seven starts) for the Mets but wasn't very effective on the mound, going 1-5 with a career-worst 5.84 ERA (4.93 FIP), a 1.53 WHIP, his first career save and a 45:32 K:BB in his 69 1/3 innings pitched before he was cut in late July. The 31-year-old veteran latched on with the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs after that but didn't make it back to the majors in the second half of the season. The former second-round pick by the Houston Astros in 2011 wasn't much better in seven starts in the minors, posting a 6.37 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in 35 1/3 frames. Houser will most likely open the 2025 season at Triple-A Round Rock as pitching depth for Texas.

New York Mets right-hander Adrian Houser warmed up in the ninth inning in Tuesday's loss to the Philadelphia Phillies when Sean Reid-Foley got hit. As a result, Houser will not start in Philadelphia on Wednesday against the Phillies. The Mets currently don't have a starting pitcher listed for Wednesday's contest. The 31-year-old Houser has made six starts for the Mets this year but was recently demoted to a relief role out of the bullpen and currently carries a rough 7.63 ERA (5.29 FIP) and 1.83 WHIP with 22 walks and 16 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings. Houser is going to need to display better command to have a shot at returning to New York's starting rotation and sticking around beyond just an emergency spot start. The Mets will likely roll with a bullpen game against Philly on Wednesday now.

New York Mets right-hander Adrian Houser has been familiarizing himself with a tinkered grip on his changeup while making mechanical tweaks to his slider in spring training. His second Grapefruit League start on Sunday against the Astros didn't go so smooth, as he allowed a lot of hard contact in 1 2/3 innings of work. Houser had been unhappy with his slider in his first start and he's been working on a more direct path with his arm to keep his slider from getting loopy. Only five of his 13 sliders on Sunday were thrown for strikes, and he didn't get any whiffs on it either, so it's clear it's still a work in progress. Especially given Kodai Senga's (shoulder) injury, the Mets are hoping the 31-year-old Houser can step up to help solidify the back end of their rotation to begin the 2024 season.