How Chicago White Sox Plan To Divide Catching Responsibilities

CHICAGO –– Catcher has been a position in flux for the White Sox in 2025. They've started five different catchers in 64 games, the latest being Kyle Teel.

Teel, the team's No. 2 prospect, made his major league debut Friday against the Kansas City Royals. As a result, catcher Korey Lee was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. The White Sox traded catcher Matt Thaiss to the Tampa Bay Rays on May 27 for minor league outfielder Dru Baker. Omar Narváez also caught four games in mid-April.

But moving forward – and potentially for years to come – Teel, 23, and fellow rookie Edgar Quero, 22, will handle White Sox catching responsibilities. Manager Will Venable likes both players' bats enough that one starting at catcher and the other at designated hitter is a possibility, too.

"I think the easiest answer is just that they'll split time," Venable said pregame. "I think you may see them match up a little bit. But we're comfortable with Kyle facing lefties, and obviously Q being a switch hitter we're comfortable with him on both sides of the plate. And excited about them catching all of our pitchers. So just understanding the demands of that position are extremely high, so I think just making sure that they can both split the load is the way we'll go into this."

White Sox general manager Chris Getz considers the catching position a strength of the organization after acquiring Teel in the Garrett Crochet trade and Quero in the Lucas Giolito trade. Teel slashed .295/.394/.492 with eight home runs, 30 RBIs, seven stolen bases, 30 walks and 54 strikeouts in 50 games in Charlotte.

Quero maintained a batting average of .280 through his first 25 games. Although it dropped to .256 entering Friday's game, he has three hits in the last two games and a solid 22-to-14 strikeout to walk ratio.

"You're talking about a tandem that's a young tandem that's probably one of the strongest in baseball," Getz said. "It's not easy to send down a player like Korey Lee, because he's talented as well. You look at the catch and throw and the athleticism that he has. But from the beginning, in regards to building an organization that's strong up the middle, the catching position is one that we've done a very good job on, we want to continue to nurture that."

After being named White Sox minor league player of the month in May, Teel said he had been taking ground balls at first base. He hasn't played first base in the minors or college, but he played 25 games in the outfield at the University of Virginia.

Venable and Getz don't expect Teel to play first base or outfield at the major league level in the foreseeable future, though. Quero's professional experience is limited to catcher and designated hitter, so moving him around is also unlikely.

"Salvador Perez used to take balls at shortstop. Korey Lee takes balls at second base. Kyle is very athletic, he's capable of playing multiple positions quite honestly. But we believe in him as a catcher," Getz said. "That's where we feel like he's going to impact the game the most you know, with the way that Will and the staff utilize the roster and the versatility to give them as many weapons as possible. Obviously you get late in games and certain things happen, and you want to put the best foot forward in regards to optimizing a certain situation. It's not bad for a guy to have some level of comfort over there, but in the near-term, I certainly don't expect him to be playing first base."

"I know with Teel, it's obviously with his athleticism, you can dream up on him playing a number of different positions," Venable said. "I think for those guys, as they're trying to figure out their way in this league, just limiting it to just one position is probably enough of a load right now."

Getz views it as a positive to have two catchers like Teel and Quero, rather than a situation where one is blocking the other from playing time. Catcher is a difficult position from a physical standpoint, especially over the course of 162 games. It also requires learning the pitching staff, opponents and building scouting reports before each game.

Because their age and everything that goes into the position, it helps to handle the position together.

"The catching position is such a demanding role, I think it's something that perhaps isn't completely understood by the casual fan, or even people that have been around the game like myself," Getz said. "But it's very, very demanding and it's only getting more demanding. So to have two guys that are capable, it can help you in so many different ways. To keep them energized and be able to get the best out of them, having two of them is not a bad thing."

"It's still an opportunity to develop certain areas of their game. You look at the receiving part, the throwing part, obviously the offensive side. Sometimes if there's a certain element of someone's game that needs to be worked on, it's tough to really dial in if they're playing so often. So to get a little bit of a rest and continue to develop and work with our coaches and certain aspects I think is a great opportunity."