Chicago White Sox' First Roster Move of the Season is a Strange One
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Only one game into the 2026 season, the Chicago White Sox have made a roster move.
The team announced on Saturday morning that they would option left-hander reliever Tyler Gilbert to Triple-A Charlotte. The move comes roughly one day after the team snatched Bryan Hudson, another lefty, off waivers from the New York Mets. Hudson pitched in four games for the White Sox in 2025, joining the team after a stint with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Chicago proceeded to DFA Hudson once they signed Austin Hays to the 40-man roster. After his short stint out East, however, he is now back with the Sox and expected to be added to the big league bullpen for Game 2 on Saturday night.
When we consider that he was inside the organization only a couple of months back, this sure does feel like a head-scratching move. The reliever has bounced around a lot over his career, and it's not as if he put together some kind of stellar spring. There is a reason the Mets decided not to add him to their active roster, as he recorded a grisly 16.20 ERA in four appearances.
As for Tyler Gilbert, he is fresh off a pretty strong 2025 season for the Sox. The lefty finished the year with 51.0 innings and even started five games. He stacked 49 strikeouts over those outings and compiled a 3.88 ERA. Now, things were rough in his first stint on Opening Day, as he walked a batter and let up a home run. But is that reason enough to give him the early boot, especially for someone you were willing to part ways with just this offseason?
Of course, adding Gilbert to the Opening Day roster also meant using a minor league option on another arm. Brandon Eisert stuck around camp for a long time and put up a strong fight for a bullpen seat. He threw 12 strikeouts and walked only two batters in his eight games. He was the final pitcher to be optioned before Opening Day. The team also decided to give up on Rule 5 draft pick Alexander Alberto, who found his way back to Tampa, and start Jonathan Cannon in the minors.
To be clear, none of this means the White Sox made the wrong choice. We are talking about one spot in a bullpen that is going to see plenty of change this season. Still, it's an undoubtedly odd move at an odd time. Especially after a sobering 14-2 beatdown on Thursday, these kinds of decisions are going to stand out even more.
Chicago White Sox Updated Bullpen
Seranthony Dominguez
Grant Taylor
Jordan Leasure
Jordan Hicks
Chris Murphy
Sean Newcomb
Jedixson Paez
Bryan Hudson
Elias Schuster is a sports journalist and content creator from the northern suburbs of Chicago. A graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he has covered the Bulls since 2019-20 and previously served as the editor of BN Bulls at Bleacher Nation. He has been the Publisher for Bulls On SI since December of the 2025-26 season. When he isn't obsessing over hoops, Elias spends his time obsessing over practically every other sport – much to his wife's dismay. He also loves strolling the streets of Chicago for the best cozy bar or restaurant to set up shop and write his next article.
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