CHICAGO -- White Sox catcher Kyle Teel has not quite yet crossed the threshold for a Minor League rehab assignment, according to general manager Chris Getz prior to Friday’s homestand opener against the Nationals.
The intense competitor that is Teel wants a short trip to Charlotte once that assignment arrives. But the White Sox will err on the side of caution, as has been the protocol since Teel suffered the Grade 2 right hamstring strain on March 10 while running out a double for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic.
“He’s been out for a while now,” said Getz of Teel. “He missed a chunk of Spring Training and all the regular season so far. So, you want some at-bats, you want him to experience the different nuances in every game: behind the plate, baserunning and certainly the at-bats as well.
“So, I don’t have a finite number on the amount of at-bats or the amount of games. You read the situation, take his feedback, take the coaches’ feedback and take it from there.”
Teel started catching again very shortly after the initial injury and talked to MLB.com near the end of Spring Training concerning a hope to possibly be back by the team’s first homestand. Teel’s optimism was tempered by dealing with soreness along the way during hitting -- which has since dissipated -- and getting his running to 100 percent.
His original prognosis was that he would be out 4-6 weeks, with April 21 marking the six-week mark of his absence.
“We haven’t quite been able to get it to the finish line,” Getz said. “There’s always this final stage and threshold that needs to be met before we send someone out on a rehab.
“We want to be very careful when it comes to Kyle and certainly a hamstring. I know that he had a really good day yesterday and he feels good today. So we’ll see how this weekend goes and take it from there.”
Edgar Quero, playing in his first full big league season after an impressive 111-game, 1.2 bWAR 2025 rookie showing, and veteran Reese McGuire are working behind the plate for the White Sox. Quero, 23, started and hit sixth on Friday.
The switch-hitting Quero had a good Spring Training, but might be pressing a little bit at the plate following a slow start leaving Quero with a .161 average, .463 OPS and four RBIs.
“Maybe a little bit,” said Getz of Quero. “He's been stronger historically right-handed than left-handed, and I think he's gotten more at-bats left-handed than at least what he did last year, considering we had Kyle Teel here.
“I view this as a learning opportunity for him to get more reps left-handed because it's still going to pop up. He's a guy that can be critical of himself and hard on himself, but we're going to continue to throw him out there and continue to help develop his overall game."