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On the South Side, well outplaying the value of your contract gets you outright dropped, Mike Tauchman. | (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Getty Images)
Leave it to the White Sox to make unexpected and underwhelming moves during the offseason. After electing to not protect several Top 30 prospects from the Rule 5 draft, Chicago doubled down on their surprises Friday by signing outfielder Derek Hill but non-tendering outfielder Mike Tauchman, first baseman Tim Elko, and southpaw reliever Cam Booser.
Non-tendering Booser is the only justifiable decision among the four. Acquired during a Winter Meetings trade in 2024, Booser wasn’t impressive. His 5.52 ERA and 1.52 WHIP in 39 games made him one of the most volatile and ineffective arms in Chicago’s bullpen. While relievers are the most fickle players in the game, letting Booser go won’t leave many regrets.
Moving up the surprise scale, declining Elko’s contract is perplexing but not irrational. Elko struggled to bat better than .150 in 23 MLB games. Although he mashed in Charlotte, earning a .292/.357/.552 slash line and 70 home runs and appeared to be the next first baseman in line after Andrew Vaughn, Elko couldn’t quite put it all together in the majors. As a fan, it’s disappointing that the Sox didn’t give Elko a second chance, especially when his contract would’ve been less than $850,000. But from a front office perspective, it’s a fair move to make, especially since he’ll miss most of 2026 after knee surgery after turning 27 in December.
Tendering Hill to a one-year, $900,000 contract after he played so little last season is also odd. He slashed .213/.275/.331 and earned a 0.8 WAR in 53 games with the Marlins before the Sox claimed him off waivers in late September, when he played just four games. While the Sox are desperate for outfield depth, Hill’s defensive inflexibility and underwhelming pedigree makes this signing questionable.
And worst of all, allowing Tauchman to become a free agent could easily backfire on the Sox. Tauchman outplayed his $1.95 million salary (FanGraphs’ values are inflated, but the site had him at an $11 million value for 2025) after slashing .263/.356/.400 and playing errorless in the field. While the right field free agent market is ripe with budget-friendly talent, Getz is making a gamble that he’ll outbid other teams or trade for another under-the-radar player. These are bets not worth making. Keeping Tauchman on the South Side should’ve been an easy decision, but the Sox have had confusing priorities lately.
With the Sox now down to 34 players on the 40-man roster, the Sox put themselves in an uncomfortable position for the Winter Meetings. Either Getz will follow his word and be aggressive in the right field and first base markets, leaving himself enough cash to add a starting pitcher and a few relievers, or he’ll quickly get outbid and be forced to rely on Triple-A players to patch the roster gaps. Knowing that owner Jerry Reinsdorf will not be signing off on anything but one-year deals as 2027’s labor strife looms, the latter seems certain.
Chicago’s latest moves don’t give fans a warm and fuzzy feeling before the holiday season begins — but there’s still time for the Sox to make the offseason productive.
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