White Sox trade Triple-A reliever Ben Peoples to Rangers

Texas turned a Triple-A arm with a 2.39 ERA into catching depth, betting Ben Peoples can help Round Rock faster than Ben Hartl can climb for Chicago. The White Sox traded Peoples to the Rangers in a one-for-one minor league deal on June 30, with neither player on a 40-man roster and neither having reached the majors.

Peoples, 25, had been one of the steadiest bullpen pieces at Triple-A Charlotte. He went 5-1 with a 2.39 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, 45 strikeouts and 21 walks in 37 2/3 innings across 29 appearances, enough to make him a meaningful relief option even before the White Sox dealt him. Chicago originally signed him in the 22nd round of the 2019 draft by the Tampa Bay Rays, and he leaves the organization with a 21-23 minor league record and a 3.40 ERA in 146 games.

For Texas, the fit was practical and immediate. The Rangers added Peoples to bolster relief depth at Triple-A Round Rock as injuries thinned the system and the club tried to reinforce pitching for a playoff push. A right-hander with 146 minor league games already on his ledger gives Round Rock a ready arm, and the door is now open for Peoples to move quickly if Texas needs a big league call for innings.

Chicago received Hartl, a 23-year-old catcher from Springfield, Illinois, whom Texas took in the 14th round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of Kansas. Hartl was at High-A Hub City in 2026, where he hit .218 with a .369 on-base percentage, a .686 OPS, three home runs, 16 RBI and one stolen base in 101 at-bats. He had not advanced beyond High-A and was regarded as a lower-level catching prospect.

The deal also carried a small White Sox connection. Hartl was a college teammate of rookie Sam Antonacci, a detail that may matter less than the baseball math Chicago and Texas made here. The Rangers got the more MLB-ready arm, while the White Sox accepted a catcher still a step away from the upper minors.