Teel to say 'arrivederci' to White Sox and 'ciao' to Team Italy

MESA, Ariz. – The high energy and always-positive attitude of Kyle Teel will be absent from the White Sox clubhouse for a few weeks, as he joins teammate Sam Antonacci on Team Italy.

But before departing for World Baseball Classic competition at Daikin Park in Houston, Teel talked to MLB.com about a wide array of topics.

Spring Training growth

At this time last year, Teel was a rookie getting ready in Glendale, Ariz., for his first foray into the Major Leagues after coming over from Boston in a four-player return for Garrett Crochet. The left-handed-hitting catcher made his White Sox debut on June 6 with one hit and a run scored against the Royals, after forcing the callup issue via his strong play with Triple-A Charlotte.

Over his 78 games and 297 plate appearances, Teel slashed .273/.375/.411 with eight home runs and 35 RBIs. And the athletic backstop is just starting to touch his potential both with the bat and behind the plate.

“He looks great. He controls the zone really well,” said White Sox manager Will Venable. “I don’t know what that means as far as homers or OPS or batting average, but he is what we think is an elite offensive catcher in this league. We saw that last year and are looking forward to seeing what the next version of that looks like.”

During this current Cactus League run, Teel is benefiting from the knowledge gained in 2025 just as the rest of the young White Sox core has done.

“Overall, I feel like I’m more polished defensively, especially the moves I want to make,” Teel said. “Offensively, I have a good idea of what I need to work on. Last year, I felt like I was trying to figure that stuff out.”

“We are seeing it every day. He just knows what to expect,” Venable said. “He knows that he belongs in this league, and last year he was just trying to fit in a new organization and trying to find his way in the big leagues. Now … he understands his role and what that means with the relationship with the pitchers, what it means offensively.”

More on catching

In Teel, Edgar Quero and Korey Lee, the White Sox have three Major League-quality catchers who seem to work well together. Quero homered Sunday off Shota Imanaga at Sloan Park and picked up his ninth RBI. Meanwhile, Teel, who just turned 24 on Feb. 15, is finding his veteran legs defensively and as a game caller.

Sean Newcomb shared a story after his first start about having a few veteran butterflies and his mechanics being a bit off when facing the back-to-back defending World Series champion Dodgers. Teel came to the mound after a couple of hitters, and Newcomb expected a “How are you feeling?” type of thing.

Instead, Teel hit him with “Get in your legs. Let’s go.”

“I love working with him back there,” Newcomb said. “He knew exactly what I was feeling.”

Team Italy

Pool B for the WBC features Team USA as the favorite to advance. But Italy has a chance among the other four, along with Brazil, Great Britain and Mexico.

“I think we are going to surprise a lot of people,” said Teel of Italy. “I really like our team.”

Antonacci, who hit long Cactus League home runs off Jameson Taillon and Tanner Bibee, gets the seal of approval from his White Sox and now Team Italy teammate.

“Sam kills the baseball. He’s very talented, and he’s a gamer,” Teel said. “I’m so excited being able to represent [my] family’s culture. I have the whole Italian heritage, and being able to represent that side of the family is a great opportunity.”

White Sox vibes

High energy has been a frequently cited attribute of the White Sox clubhouse, with Teel adding that their young team is feeling the excitement of competing every single day. This group has grown together and now hopes to win together, but Teel has an interesting perspective on the team losing together.

“There’s going to be failure. And I feel like guys on this team fail really well,” Teel said. “I don’t notice anyone [who] gets too down on themselves. I feel like failing forward is the way to go, and I see this team doing that.

“When you have a positive team and a team that has some energy, there’s more excitement. It’s more fun, and you know when you are having fun, you don’t get burnt out as easily. You are excited to compete every day. It’s extremely important to have.”