GLENDALE, Ariz. – Korey Lee caught five innings during a 4-2 loss to the Mariners Sunday night at Camelback Ranch.
He walked to the clubhouse with a handful of his exiting teammates following the team’s home Cactus League finale and took off his White Sox uniform for possibly the final time.
Life changed quickly for Lee on Sunday. With Kyle Teel sidelined for 4 to 6 weeks due to a Grade 2 right hamstring strain, the veteran looked as if he would join Edgar Quero behind the plate on the White Sox Opening Day roster. But the White Sox signed Reese McGuire to a one-year, $1.2 million deal, and later in the day, manager Will Venable announced Lee would not be breaking camp with the team.
Venable strongly complimented Lee as a person and as a player. The same sentiment was felt across the front office regarding this tough decision. In a brief conversation with MLB.com Sunday night, Lee was his usual stoic yet upbeat self, but showed some emotion when talking about the possible end of his White Sox tenure.
“Those are the hard conversations,” Lee said. “The hard conversations saying bye to the guys, saying bye to the staff, and just … tough. Yeah, it’s something you just don’t think about.
“That’s always in the back of your mind, but it happens in this game. You sign up for that when you get drafted and you sign up for that when you play this hard game. If you are a player and you are thinking about that, you might not be in the best headspace. It’s always going to be real, and it’s always going to be there.”
Lee received a call from general manager Chris Getz on Sunday morning to tell him of the McGuire signing. He praised McGuire as “a helluva player, a good catcher, a savvy vet, a left-handed bat,” and praised Getz for his “good communication.”
“I’m lucky to play this game,” Lee said. “Whether that’s in Chicago, wherever it brings me, I’ll still be the same guy. I’ll still play the same way. But obviously, it takes a turn of events and just gotta keep on going.”
“Korey has been a huge influence in my career, baseball-wise, too,” said White Sox starter Sean Burke, who threw to Lee Sunday. “But off the field, he’s been a great friend of mine and one of my best friends on this team. If he does end up going somewhere else, I wish him the best. Happy to have Reese, but definitely tough to lose him.”
What’s next for Lee remains unknown. The White Sox could try to trade him, and Lee is out of Minor League options. Lee was acquired on July 28, 2023, from Houston for right-hander Kendall Graveman as the White Sox catcher of the future, before being replaced by Teel and Quero as the current catchers of the future.
Even with Sunday’s tough day on his mind, Lee wanted to play that night because it’s still baseball.
“It’s what I love to do, no matter where it is. I love the game,” Lee said. “I love putting on the uniform. I love catching. I love hitting. I got the opportunity to do that tonight. I’m going to take that and run.”
McGuire replaced Lee in Sunday’s game, knocking out a double and a home run. He provides a veteran left-handed bat to go with Quero, who, as a switch-hitter, featured a .357/.394/.457 slash line from the right side as a rookie in ‘25.
This move might give the White Sox that extra edge to help set the tone and win games early, an essential component for this team. The catching scenario will be revisited when Teel makes a healthy return.
Over parts of three seasons and 174 games, Lee posted a slash line of .195/.237/.325 with 14 homers and 43 RBIs. His pitch framing and/or offensive numbers might not be top of the line projection-wise going forward, but at 27, there’s certainly time for him to develop.
Lee’s importance went beyond the field. He was a strong clubhouse presence. He was one of the positive voices of the White Sox during a 121-loss 2024 season, in what was his first full Major League campaign. Now he could be practicing his craft somewhere else.
“Just keep on bringing a good mindset and bringing a good work ethic every day, and everything will take care of itself,” Lee said. “I’m willing to go wherever, wherever it’s going to bring me.”