13 Chicago White Sox Players Elect Free Agency

When a prospect reaches the end of his initial minor league contract, typically after six or seven seasons, and has not been added to his organization's 40-man roster, he becomes eligible to elect minor league free agency and pursue opportunities with other teams.

As we enter the offseason with free agency and trades now open, the Chicago White Sox are expected to be one of baseball's more active teams.

The White Sox, however, do have a list of 13 minor league players who have elected free agency. This does not mean the White Sox chose to release them, nor does it mean those players won't rejoin the organization on new contracts.

For the time being, however, the following players are no longer members of the White Sox organization.

RHP: Aidan Anderson, Adisyn Coffey, Dylan Cumming, Jairo Iriarte, Jarold Rosado

LHP: Tyler Gilbert

C: Korey Lee

IF: Tim Elko, Andy Weber, Riley Unroe

OF: Jake Cave, Junior Pérez, Joey Wiemer

The list includes catcher Korey Lee, who played in 174 games for the White Sox from 2023-2025.

Fan favorite Tim Elko also elected free agency after returning to the field from a serious leg injury in 2026 and hitting six home runs with a .742 OPS in Triple-A Charlotte. Elko previously appeared in 23 games for the White Sox in 2025.

Left-handed pitcher Tyler Gilbert and outfielder Junior Pérez both played for the White Sox in 2026. Gilbert had a 12.00 ERA in five appearances, while Pérez hit three home runs with a .623 OPS over 22 games.

Jairo Iriarte was a prospect the White Sox received in the Dylan Cease trade with the San Diego Padres. Iriarte pitched for Chicago back in 2024 but has not made it back to the big leagues since.

While I don't expect the White Sox to retain some of the veteran players on this list, such as Jake Cave, Joey Wiemer or even Tyler Gilbert, I do think there could be some merit in trying to bring back younger players with untapped potential. Pérez would fall into that group for me, as would right-handed pitcher Adisyn Coffey, who has seemingly been on the cusp of making his MLB debut for a few years now.

It may not seem like a big deal, and most of the time, it's not. But these can be some of the decisions and roster moves that help an organization build depth and find a diamond in the rough. The White Sox need to make sure they're bringing back the right players from this group.