GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The White Sox officially are three weeks into Spring Training, half-way through with their preparation for Opening Day on March 26 in Milwaukee and the ensuing 2026 campaign.
They feature three stellar catchers in Edgar Quero, Kyle Teel and Korey Lee that other teams certainly would like to have. And manager Will Venable doesn’t see an issue trying to find regular at-bats and playing time for those involved.
“I think it really is going to take care of itself,” Venable said prior to Monday afternoon’s 6-5 loss to the Giants in Cactus League action at Camelback Ranch. “We know that we like Kyle catching and hitting against righties. We know that Edgar can DH. We’ll have a couple of guys who will fill that DH spot vs. right-handed pitching.
“We like Edgar catching against the lefties. It doesn’t have to be a straight platoon. We don’t view it like that. We just know of the demand of the catching position, there will be lots of opportunities for them behind the plate.”
Lee, who is out of options, entered Monday’s game tied for fifth in the Cactus League with five walks and doubled home a run while throwing out a would-be basestealer against San Francisco. He has proven his leadership in the toughest of times during the forgettable ‘24 season and he has had a strong start to Spring Training, with a decision to play out over the next few weeks as to whether the White Sox will break camp with three catchers.
Quero has made the most of his opportunities even before Teel joined Team Italy for World Baseball Classic competition. The switch-hitter is tied for the Cactus League lead with nine RBIs and nine hits, after going deep in the first inning against Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga on Sunday.
Quero’s diligent offseason work focused on strengthening all areas of his game, from the offensive side to framing pitches. But change on his swing came especially within his hips.
“Try to rotate a little better with my load, in my back hips, and it’s working right now. Both sides, same thing. I figured it out in the offseason and now it’s working,” Quero said. “That helped me to be more square to hit the ball, especially the fastball. My bat speed is a little up right now, and that’s why I’m making better contact.
“When I’m feeling good, I’m ready to hit the fastball. When I’m hitting the fastball firm, that’s how I feel like I’m good. Sometimes I miss a lot of fastballs in the middle, especially to do damage. Right now, I’m feeling good.”
Although Quero termed his 2025 season as “OK,” especially knowing he can get more from himself, he posted a .268/.333/.356 slash line with five home runs, 17 doubles and 36 RBIs. Venable’s non-platoon, platoon point is reinforced by Quero hitting .357 with an .851 OPS over 137 plate appearances against southpaws, while Teel hit .290 with an .836 OPS and all eight of his homers against right-handers.
There’s no set DH for the White Sox, so both players can filter through that spot with other possibilities.
“We’re happy to be here together,” Quero said of the three-catcher situation. “We don’t talk about that, we just do our job. We go out and try to do the best for the team, no matter what. It doesn’t matter who’s playing, the thing is to help your team to win.”
Present improvement for Quero really began in the offseason, according to Venable.
“He was here at the [Camelback Ranch] complex a bunch. He put in a ton of work on his physical composition,” Venable said. “His skillset. Just put in a lot of work across the board. Really proud of him and it’s showing up in games.
“Just think he’s a lot stronger. Lower half, upper half, just being stronger. He’ll tell you he’s faster. Not sure how true that is. But we are going to find out.”
Trade talk percolates when there’s an abundance of talent at one position and a need to upgrade other areas. There was interest in all three of these players, but general manager Chris Getz is not moving from his gold catching stash.
Not when there’s room enough for everyone, at least at this point.
“Like I said before, I’m just here to play baseball,” Quero said, when asked about trade talk. “I’m here right now, I’m going to help the team.”
“There’s talent all around,” said right-hander Davis Martin, who allowed three runs on four hits and two walks to go with two strikeouts over three innings on Monday. “What talent brings is competition and competition is good for everybody.”