Ben Peoples appeared to be closing in on an MLB opportunity before the White Sox unexpectedly shipped him to Texas for a minor league catcher.
On Tuesday night, in the midst of a game against the Baltimore Orioles, the Chicago White Sox made a surprising trade.
Right-handed pitcher Ben Peoples has been sent to the Texas Rangers in exchange for minor league catcher Ben Hartl.
Peoples is a 25-year-old right-handed pitcher who was acquired last season from the Tampa Bay Rays in the deal for Adrian Houser. After a productive minor league career as a starting pitcher, he made the transition to a bullpen role in 2025 and really started to make a name for himself while knocking on the door of an MLB call-up. That continued in 2026, as Peoples posted a 2.39 ERA and a 5-1 record through his first 29 appearances with Triple-A Charlotte this season.
While the walk rate is high at 5.0 BB/9 this season, Peoples also has 10.8 K/9 on the year. It's the kind of big stuff that profiles well in a bullpen role, even if the command still needs some refining. A 1.09 WHIP and a 2.39 ERA show that Peoples can still be productive in the hitter-friendly International League environment with his current arsenal.
I have been advocating for Peoples to get an opportunity with the White Sox for most of the 2026 season now, especially given the fact that Chicago has a bullpen ERA of 4.15, which ranks 16th in baseball, and one of their biggest weaknesses has been a lack of reliable right-handed relief arms.
While the White Sox would have needed to add Ben Peoples to the 40-man roster before calling him up, there's certainly a case to be made that he's more deserving of that spot than someone like Duncan Davitt, who has a 7.08 ERA in Triple-A this season.
Maybe Peoples wasn't next in line to be called up anyway. Peyton Pallette remains a viable option, and Wikelman Gonzalez was just activated from a rehab assignment by the Charlotte Knights and is back in Triple-A with a 2.57 ERA on the year.
Even so, I'm not sure what the White Sox see here with this trade.
Ben Hartl was a 14th-round pick by the Rangers in the 2024 MLB Draft, and in 128 career minor league games, there isn't much production to write home about. Hartl has just five (5) professional home runs in 412 at-bats and is currently playing at High-A as a 23-year-old with a .686 OPS.
Not to mention the fact that the White Sox already have a tremendous amount of catching depth.
Kyle Teel is the franchise's catcher of the future. While Edgar Quero struggled in MLB this season, he still has a bright future ahead of him and will be part of Chicago's long-term plans. Michael Turner has a .907 OPS in Triple-A this year. Teenagers Landon Hodge (19) and Fernando Graterol (17) are both top-30 prospects in the farm system. And catcher Boston Smith, who was acquired in a trade for Curtis Mead earlier this season, has a 1.010 OPS and 14 home runs on the year entering play on Tuesday. Smith, like Hartl, is a 23-year-old at High-A.
That's not to say all, or any, of those prospects will end up being pieces for the White Sox moving forward. But it's certainly not a glaring position of need within the organization right now. And Hartl has a lot of rungs on the ladder to climb before he'll be close to making an impact for the White Sox at the MLB level.
From a strict standpoint of value and organizational need, Peoples seems like the much clearer bet to have a fruitful big league career. Chris Getz has earned the benefit of the doubt, and I'm willing to give it here, but in my eyes, this deal is questionable at best.
I expect to see Ben Peoples in Texas making his MLB debut before the end of 2026.
