Kyle Teel is finally back from the injured list after missing the first 76 games of the season with back-to-back leg injuries, and he’s already talking about catching “seven days a week.” His return gives the White Sox an upgrade at catcher, after a period tha
Kyle Teel didn’t miss the moment when he came back—he met it head-on.
Asked how often he could catch now that he’s finally off the injured list, the White Sox catcher’s answer was blunt. “Seven days a week,” Teel said.
It’s been a long runway back. Teel missed the first 76 games of the season after back-to-back leg injuries. He strained his right hamstring in March while playing for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic. Then. while on a rehab assignment. he sprained the lateral collateral ligament in his right knee after a cleat caught on a swing—an injury that came from a moment that was supposed to be routine.
Now, with plastic spikes back in his footwear after weeks of recovery, Teel returned with the team’s everyday plans in mind. Just a half-dozen games before the season’s midpoint, he was back in Will Venable’s lineup batting fourth Monday night against Cleveland.
Teel said he doesn’t expect a prolonged adjustment period. “No, I feel like I’m fresh,” he said. “A lot of these guys have been playing for a long time, and you know I’m not fatigued at all. I’m fresh, I’m ready to go.”
His return matters not only because it restores a key position. but because it changes what’s been happening behind the plate. In Teel’s absence. the Sox had a catcher situation they couldn’t rely on—what Venable called an impact spot that had become a “black hole.” To make room for Teel. the White Sox optioned Edgar Quero to Triple-A Charlotte. Quero entered the season batting .187 with three extra-base hits in 150 at-bats, including a double and two home runs. Drew Romo, the other catcher on the roster, is batting .144, though he has hit 5 home runs in 90 at-bats.
Defensively, the catcher tandem has also struggled, performing at a below-average level.
Yet Teel’s rehab run offered a different picture. Across his combined rehab assignments. he posted a .387/.441/.613 slash line. including a five-hit game he had for Charlotte last Friday night at Buffalo. The kind of production Teel showed in those games is what gives the Sox confidence that the position can improve quickly.
Venable said Teel’s value goes beyond numbers. “Obviously, he’s somebody that makes a huge impact in the middle of our lineup,” Venable said. He added that he doesn’t plan to treat Teel like a nonstop option. “I have no intention of playing him seven days a week,” he said. “Excited not just to have him in the lineup, but on the field. His energy when he is playing is awesome.”.
Teel’s freshness also lands in a bigger development plan. Venable said the Cuban-born Quero—still only 23—should benefit from time in Charlotte. hoping he “really unlock[s] the best version of himself.” Venable was also asked whether the Sox considered sending Quero to the team’s Arizona facility. as they did successfully with Colson Montgomery last season. The manager said the team thought game conditions in Charlotte would be better for the adjustments.
The rhythm of the Sox’s return-to-form debate is clear: when Teel is in the picture, the middle of the lineup looks stronger, and the position itself looks less fragile.
That shift comes as the team also navigates the early steps of All-Star voting.
All-Star update
Phase 1 of All-Star voting is set to end at 11 a.m. Thursday, and the gap between White Sox players and the leaders is wide enough that only an outsized voting push could change the outcome.
There is one exception worth watching: Munetaka Murakami, the injured Japanese slugger who ranks third at first base. Murakami has 141,707 votes, trailing Ben Rice of the Yankees. Toronto’s Vladi Guerrero Jr. has drawn over 1.458 million votes, while Rice sits at 882,772 and Murakami is at 741,065. The top two players at each position advance. with six outfielders moving to Phase 2. so there’s an outside chance a late push—by local precincts and by voters in his native Japan—could land Murakami a spot on the ballot.
Even if it happens, it would likely be a Pyrrhic victory. Murakami has only an outside chance of returning before the July 14th All-Star game in Philadelphia. Still, an All-Star selection could help on his resume and also on GM Chris Getz’s decision to sign him.
No other Sox player is within hailing distance of a berth. Miguel Vargas ranks third at third base, Colson Montgomery is fifth at shortstop, and Chase Meidroth is seventh at second. Outfielders Sam Antonacci (16th) and Tristan Peters (19th) also received votes.
Kyle Teel White Sox injured list catcher return Will Venable Edgar Quero Drew Romo All-Star voting Munetaka Murakami Ben Rice Vladi Guerrero Jr Chris Getz