Mike Tauchman had a productive 2025 for the Chicago White Sox — when healthy.
The outfielder battled various injuries, limiting him to 93 games.
The Sox on Friday declined to tender 2026 contracts to Tauchman, pitcher Cam Booser and first baseman Tim Elko, making them free agents. Additionally, the Sox avoided arbitration with outfielder Derek Hill, agreeing to terms on a one-year, $900,000 contract.
Tauchman, 34, slashed .263/.356/.400 with 17 doubles, one triple, nine home runs and 40 RBIs after signing a one-year deal with the Sox in December. He was also the team’s nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award.
The Palatine native began the 2025 season on the injured list with a strained right hamstring. He was activated on April 6 but went back on the IL on April 10 with a right hamstring strain suffered the previous evening while trying to score the tying run in the ninth inning against Cleveland Guardians.
Tauchman returned on May 23. His season came to an early end when he landed back on the IL on Sept. 24 (retroactive to Sept. 21) with a right knee meniscus tear.
“I pride myself on being an available player and this year, to my standard, I wasn’t as available as much as I would have liked to have been,” Tauchman said on Sept. 24, ahead of a road game against the New York Yankees. “That’s going to be a big part of this offseason is rectifying that.”
Booser went 2-4 with a 5.52 ERA, 35 strikeouts, eight holds and one save in 39 appearances during four stints after being acquired in a trade from the Boston Red Sox in December for right-hander Yhoiker Fajardo.
Elko flashed his power, hitting four home runs to go along with eight RBIs in 23 games. He went 9-for-67, a .134 average, with five walks and 30 strikeouts.
Elko, 26, underwent successful surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee on Oct. 28.
Hill appeared in four games with the Sox after being acquired off waivers from the Miami Marlins on Sept. 24. He went 2-for-7 (.286) with one RBI.
Hill, 29, spent most of 2025 with Miami, slashing .213/.275/.331 with three home runs, 10 RBIs, 19 runs and seven stolen bases in 53 games before being designated for assignment on Sept. 22.
A first-round pick (No. 23) out of Elk Grove (Calif.) High School in the 2014 draft by the Detroit Tigers, Hill has a career 229/.277/.347 slash line with 16 doubles, five triples, 14 home runs, 54 RBIs and 23 stolen bases in 218 games during six seasons with the Tigers (2020-22), Washington Nationals (2023), Texas Rangers (2024), San Francisco Giants (2024), Marlins (2024-25) and the Sox (2025).
It’s a split contract for Hill, who is set to make $900,000 in the majors and $450,000 in the minors.
When Hill joined the Sox in late September, manager Will Venable described him as an “above-average defender, really good against left-handed pitching, good baserunner, has a ton of speed,” adding that “he’s a dynamic athlete.”
The Sox have Luis Robert Jr., Brooks Baldwin, Andrew Benintendi, Hill and Everson Pereira — acquired as part of a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday — as outfielders listed on their 40-man roster.
With Friday’s moves, the 40-man roster decreased to 34. According to the Sox, all remaining unsigned players on their 40-man roster have been tendered contracts for the 2026 season.