The Chicago White Sox made a few roster moves ahead of Saturday’s game against the Texas Rangers, including the demotion of popular power-hitting prospect Tim Elko. The 26-year-old’s biggest attribute is that he’s not Andrew Vaughn, who was recently shipped off to the Milwaukee Brewers for starting pitcher Aaron Civale.
Elko, who was selected in the 10th round of the 2022 MLB Draft, got on the radar of White Sox fans hungry to see a power-hitting corner infielder. Elko broke out in the minors during the 2023 season, hitting 28 home runs and posting an .874 OPS across three levels. The right-handed hitter made it up to Double-A by the end of 2023 and was promoted to Triple-A in July 2024.
Fans have been done with Vaughn for a while and entering 2025 they wanted Elko up and in the starting lineup. They got their wish on May 10, when Elko made his MLB debut against Miami Marlins. His first stint in the majors was short-lived as the White Sox sent him down on May 21, but he returned two weeks later.
Now, Elko is back to Triple-A. The White Sox officially added Civale to the active roster and replaced Elko with 29-year-old Ryan Noda. Left-handed pitcher Tyler Gilbert was also optioned.
While Elko has maintained favor among White Sox fans in 2025, he hasn’t lit the world on fire. In 63 plate appearances Elko has only produced a 65 wRC+, slashing .155/.222/.379. The most concerning part of Elko’s game has been the strikeouts, 24 punch outs that comes out to a 38.1 K% during his first look at MLB pitching. Sadly, that’s always been Elko’s major red flag as he carries a 30% strikeout rate throughout his minor-league career.
His second call up with the White Sox has gone worse than the first. In 27 June at-bats, Elko has only recorded four hits, while striking out 14 time and posting a .554 OPS. He does have four home runs in 18 games, so you know that Elko does have the ability to take pitchers deep, but it’s everything else that’s been a struggle for the older prospect. He’ll have to improve his plate discipline in Charlotte, but there’s no doubt that Elko will get more chances down the line with the White Sox.
Noda has 164 games of MLB experience all coming with the Oakland A’s in 2023-24. The lefty bat has a career slash line of .212/.344/.369, in the majors and has been on fire at Triple-A most recently the Boston Red Sox this season, recording a 1.222 OPS with three home runs in his last 13 games.
The White Sox claimed Noda off waivers from the Red Sox on Friday.
