The Padres are known to be looking for help behind the plate, and their search for catching has extended to the Windy City. The Athletic’s Dennis Lin reports that the Padres have interest in White Sox catcher Korey Lee, who has spent much of the 2025 season either on the big league injured list or at Triple-A Charlotte.
It wasn’t long ago that Lee seemed like a potential building block for the Sox, as he opened the 2024 season as Chicago’s regular catcher and hit .309/.341/.494 in his first 85 plate appearances. Unfortunately for Lee, his bat then went ice cold for the remainder of the year. He finished with a .210/.244/.347 slash line in 394 PA, and his 64 wRC+ was the third-lowest of any 2024 player who received at least 300 trips to the plate. Lee’s 2025 campaign then got off a rough start when he suffered a left ankle sprain in early April, which resulted in over six weeks on the IL.
Lee’s last big league appearance this season came on June 5, and he has since been playing in Charlotte. With highly-regarded prospects Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero now taking over as Chicago’s catching tandem, Lee simply looks like the odd man out. Blake Sabol was just acquired today in a trade from the Red Sox, which could push Lee even further down the depth chart or hint that Lee could soon be on his way elsewhere.
The Astros took Lee with the 32nd pick of the 2019 draft, and his 12-game rookie season in 2022 netted him a World Series ring right at the start of his Major League career. Lee was dealt from Houston to Chicago at the 2023 trade deadline in the swap that brought Kendall Graveman to the Astros, and Lee has thus far hit .192/.231/.315 over 521 career plate appearances in the big leagues.
It isn’t much of a track record, though Lee has hit pretty well during his time at Triple-A, including a .262/.342/.438 slash line in 146 PA with Charlotte in 2025. Lee was very good at throwing out baserunners in 2024, but Statcast hasn’t loved his defensive work overall, with generally negative grades for Lee’s framing and blocking (albeit in a small sample size of MLB action). If Lee doesn’t look like a difference-maker on paper for the Padres, he is just shy of his 27th birthday, and might be able to yet unlock his past draft potential with another change of scenery.
As it relates to San Diego, Lee still could represent an upgrade on a catching situation that has nowhere to go but up. Padres catchers have combined for -0.9 bWAR in 2025, easily the lowest of any team’s catching corps. Veterans Elias Diaz and Martin Maldonado have a cumulative slash line of .190/.250/.296 in 342 plate appearances, and Maldonado’s once-acclaimed glovework has also fallen off, as per public metrics.
Campy can’t be THAT BAD
Or is he?
Dun dun dun!
Campy is 0 for 21 with 11ks and pitchers don’t like throwing to him. He needs a change of scenery.
I read through the article. Who is Campy?
@Log – Campy is catcher Luis Campusano, currently in AAA.
Actually he is currently on the ML team, went hitless as a DH in yesterdays game.
I after I did some searching I figured it out. Thank you.
Ah well least he has his world series ring. Which means in 17 yrs he’ll be invited back to a 20 yr reunion and consigned to an autograph booth in a danky warehouse a la Chris Widger
I mean what would it cost the Pads to aquire him… Steak dinner? Couple bags of balls? Go for it.
I’d offer Salas and Tears to make sure they get him. Lee is a wonderful talent too good to pass up.
I can’t tell if you are trolling or not.
lol!
Happy/Homer hour starting early in ChiTown?!
The White Sox haven’t done particularly well in recent trades with the Padres.
Campy for him straight up. Fair trade.
I like Campy but a change of scenery might do both good. The Padres seem to not see Campy as a catcher. He is listed as a DH on the AAA roster. I kind of just really want him to get a 2025 MLB hit pretty soon cause he’s better than he’s shown so far
Yeah a change of scenary would definitely be best for Campy.
I do find it strange that last year he started 74 games at catcher when they won 93 games (.574 %), their second most wins in a season in franchise history. In the games he started they had a .608 winning percentage. Considering the role a catcher plays I find it hard to believe they could play so well with him catching if he was such a liability.
Campusano was not good last year, but he could put the ball in play and had almost exactly the same amount of rbi’s (40) as strikeouts (41). Elias Maldonado have 22 rbi’s and 106 strikeouts this year. It is kind of funny pinch hitting for the 42 OPS+ bat with a 56 OPS+ one frequently.
I like the guy. Yes, he’s third on the depth chart right now. I was kinda hoping that one of these 3 would turn into a first baseman, allowing the other 2 to remain catchers. If the Sox trade Lee, I hope it’s not for nothing at all, not that he’d command a huge amount. The rare moment of having organizational depth can get thin quick.
Pass
Agreed
Kind of amazing that Lee’s career .546 OPS matches exactly the number the Padres catchers have put up this year. What are the odds of that?!
54.6%?
Lee would definitely be an upgrade over the ancient tandem that they have now. Albeit, a modest one.
Lee deserves more playing time than he will get in Chicago. Getting any decent prospect back for a deceht backup catcher is a good move for both teams.
Only makes sense if the pick up a starter or reliever with the deal. Probably cost a #20-#30 level prospect and another in their top 50.
I saw an article kick around the idea of Korey Lee for Perlaza (switch-hitting 26 YO middle infielder). Forgot his last name.
Also saw an article kicking around the idea of Luis Robert to Padres (while moving he or Merrill to LF). Package Robert, Lee, and Houser for best offer
Bob: When you look at how Sheets and Vaughn have resurrected their careers once they got away from the Sox, I can’t help feeling that Robert will do the same. It’s just a matter of who will take a chance on him and bring his full talent to light.
Hard to call Vaughan’s 14 AB stint with the Brews a “resurrection”. Let’s give it a bit more than 3 days perhaps?
Lee still has some upside. Teams could do worse than him as part of their catching tandem and many do.
Probably worth a relief pitcher prospect at least.
Really quick pop times and a good arm. Not a whole lot else. Maybe some other team can unlock something in him. With Teel and Quero in the fold, Lee is very expendable.
They struck gold with Sheets; no reason why another Getz castoff can’t emerge the better once out of that terrible organization…
He has been ok. Not sure they struck gold. Negative defensive value. bwar of only 0.8 so far. Fine but .725 OPS in June, .699 in July could portend a lackluster second half. Wait and see how the rest of the season goes
Corey Lee is a good catcher. The Sox better not trade him for another player who can’t get above AAA.