White Sox Designate Tyler Gilbert For Assignment

The White Sox announced that they have selected outfielder Tommy Pham and recalled right-hander Tanner McDougal. Those are their two additions for active rosters expanding from 26 to 28 today. The Sox just acquired Pham yesterday and it was reported at that time that he would be added to the roster. To open a 40-man spot for him, left-hander Tyler Gilbert has been designated for assignment.

Gilbert, 32, has been with the Sox for almost two years now. He was designated for assignment by the Phillies in December of 2024 and then was flipped to the Sox shortly thereafter. He had a decent 2025 for the South Siders, tossing 51 innings and allowing 3.88 earned runs per nine. That was probably a bit misleading, as his .259 batting average on balls in play was on the lucky side. His 22.8% strikeout rate was around average but he gave out walks at a high 11.2% clip.

Here in 2026, he has mostly been on optional assignment and also spent close two months on the injured list due to a shoulder impingement. He has only been able to log six big league innings, allowing eight earned runs in that time. He has also thrown 33 Triple-A innings with a 4.64 ERA. That’s not an incredibly impressive number but his 23.7% strikeout rate, 7.6% walk rate and 50.6% ground ball rate at that level have all been average or better figures. The ERA is mostly due to a home run spike, as 26.1% of his fly balls have cleared the fence.

Gilbert is in his final option season and will therefore be out of options next year. That fact and his middling results this year have seemingly pushed him off the edge of the roster. Since the trade deadline has passed, he will have to be placed on waivers in the coming days. Since the playoff eligibility cutoff has now passed, he could only be used as depth for the rest of the regular season, which limits the appeal. If he clears waivers, he will have the right to elect free agency.