How will White Sox distribute reps for talented catching trio?

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The White Sox face a catching conundrum.

In Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero and Korey Lee, they have three talented backstops under the age of 27. But barring the South Siders going with a third catcher on the Opening Day roster in Milwaukee, which is a possibility but doesn’t happen regularly, they have only two available roster spots.

To make matters tougher, Lee is out of Minor League options. Nonetheless, roster permutations aren’t on the minds of these three with the work being put in during the early stages of Spring Training and the high hopes for the 2026 season.

“That’s out of my control,” Lee told MLB.com. “I can control what I can, and that’s playing as hard as I can and that’s being ready every single day.”

“There's always that competition,” Teel said. “This is the game we play. We're always competing. But it's a great relationship.”

Lee, 27, came to the White Sox from the Astros near the 2023 Trade Deadline in exchange for reliever Kendall Graveman. Quero, 22, arrived around the same time from the Angels, along with left-hander Ky Bush, in exchange for Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez.

Teel, who turned 24 on Sunday, has become the team’s starting catcher after moving to the White Sox as part of the four-player return from Boston in the Garrett Crochet deal on the last day of the 2024 Winter Meetings. There is that competition between the trio, as Teel mentioned, but there’s also a solid bond, with Lee confirming Teel’s thoughts.

“They are very talented young men. They are also great young men,” Lee said of Teel and Quero. “They are more than just baseball players. They are really, really good humans. I love competing with them. I like working hard. They are a little bit younger than me, so I try to keep myself young at the same time. It’s going to be a lot of fun seeing them grow into the players I know they can be.”

“These guys are working extremely hard. They are getting better defensively,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “The thing that really sticks out is they work really well together. I know there’s a lot of competition for a roster spot, for playing time -- but they have been extremely supportive of each other.”

Venable could use the switch-hitting Quero at designated hitter, or do the same with Teel on days when they aren’t catching. Having a third catcher on the active roster makes using Teel and Quero in the same lineup a little easier, but Venable might not opt for a set, everyday DH. Players such as Lenyn Sosa, Andrew Benintendi, Miguel Vargas and Munetaka Murakami are all candidates to be rotated through that spot.

General manager Chris Getz still could move one of these three via trade, with all of them receiving some level of offseason interest. But Getz rightfully considers catching as gold at this level, while also understanding none of them will be catching 120 or 130 games in 2026.

Seventeen catchers caught at least 100 games in 2025, with 11 catching more than 110 games. Quero caught 72 games and 579 innings after reaching the Majors, while Teel caught 61 games and 501 1/3 innings in the big leagues.

During this past offseason, Lee’s focus was simply to play baseball by catching, taking ground balls, working in the outfield and even messing around on the mound for fun. He still shags fly balls during Spring Training batting practice, but Venable indicated Lee is a catcher just like Teel and Quero.

“We aren’t having him train out there. If he’s out there running around, it’s [just] getting his legs going,” Venable said. “That’s not a path for him in the outfield. Certainly he’s somebody in an emergency -- he’s been running around enough that he could do it -- but he’s a catcher for us.”

“I’m a jack of all trades. I can do whatever,” Lee said. “Be in the best shape of my life. I’m going to play as hard as I can -- behind the plate, catching, being the best teammate I can be. That’s what I’m here for. I want to be a [part of the] White Sox. … I just like playing baseball.”

On March 1, Teel will join Team Italy for the World Baseball Classic. He’ll be away from the White Sox, but he'll get an even higher level of regular-season preparation.

“Usually in the spring, you ramp up, you’ve got backfield [work], Spring Training and then you’ve got games in the big stadium,” Teel said. “But [the World Baseball Classic] is like zero to 100 and that excites me. I love that feeling. I love that excitement.”