Chris Getz eyes benefits of White Sox' catching depth as Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero emerge behind the plate
The White Sox are thrilled to have a pair of promising young catchers in Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero, two guys who have established themselves as members of a budding position-player core and are en route to fulfilling general manager Chris Getz’s plan of his rebuilt roster being strong up the middle.
But considering it’s looking like a position of strength, could the Sox break up the tandem one day in order to address future needs?
“How it’s going to play out is yet to be seen,” Getz said last week. “It’s vital to build that catching depth, not only to protect your own organization, but we know how valuable it is in our industry. Is there an opportunity to repurpose some of these players to help in other areas? Sure, we’re open-minded to it.
“I feel really good about where we are on the catching front. That hasn’t been the case in the past. We’re going to use that to our benefit moving forward.”
Asked about his use of the word “repurpose,” Getz made it known he wasn’t talking about moving Teel or Quero to a different position.
“Not necessarily the versatility,” he said. “They’re certainly athletic enough. Kyle’s got a history of playing across the diamond going back to his college days. But the continued development of those guys as catchers is the most important thing.
“As we continue to assess everything and try to find ways to improve this club, we’re open-minded in how to take advantage of the catching role.”
Might that mean a trade someday? There’s a long way to go until Getz needs to make moves to shore up a contending roster, with the Sox en route to their third consecutive 100-loss campaign. But when it comes to making moves, trading from a position of strength is preferred to the alternative.
In the long run, perhaps just one of Teel or Quero might emerge as the Sox’ long-term option behind the plate, while another might be used, however far into the future, to bring in players to get the team closer to its championship goal.
From third catcher to emergency outfielder
The third catcher on the Sox’ roster, Korey Lee, got to experience a new position in Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the Padres, playing a few innings of left field after a bunch of pinch-hitting and pinch-running by manager Will Venable.
Venable described Sunday’s move as an “emergency” situation, but Lee has been practicing in the outfield with coaches Jason Bourgeois and Grady Sizemore, trying to make himself as useful as possible while Teel and Quero soak up playing time behind the plate.
Lee made a great sliding catch and an impressive throw home but also dropped a routine fly ball for an error.
“I know he [didn’t] have any game experience, but he has been working hard out there,” Venable said. “We really didn’t have any other options. We chose to pinch-hit in some big spots where it was time to fire some bullets. We had some guys on the bench who weren’t able to play defense. We had to go to Korey Lee.”
Though this might not be a thing moving forward, Lee will likely welcome any chance to get on the field.