White Sox catcher Edgar Quero is drawing trade interest from multiple teams, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR. Romero notes that the Sox would have a high asking price. That aligns with recent comments from White Sox general manager Chris Getz. Per James Fegan of Sox Machine, Getz pushed back on the idea that now was the time to trade a catcher. “Is that time now? I don’t think so. I don’t,” Getz said. “But down the road, you never know.”
The Sox came into 2025 with two notable catching prospects in Quero and Kyle Teel. Both were generally considered top 100 guys by prospect evaluators. Both debuted in 2025. Teel had a better season but he’s a year older.
Quero got into 111 games and stepped to the plate 403 times, producing a .268/.333/.356 line. That led to a 95 wRC+, which indicates he was 5% less productive than the average big league hitter. Catchers are usually about 10% worse than par, so Quero’s production was actually decent for the position. However, outlets like FanGraphs, Statcast and Baseball Prospectus all panned his glovework, particularly his framing.
Teel, meanwhile, got into 78 games with 297 plate appearances. He slashed .273/.375/.411 for a 125 wRC+. His defensive grades weren’t elite but he was often considered to be close to average, give or take.
The Sox also have Korey Lee on the roster. He wasn’t the same level of prospect as Teel or Quero but he was a 32nd overall pick of the Astros back in 2019. He hasn’t clicked in the majors yet, with a .193/.234/.321 batting line and poor defense to boot.
The Sox don’t have to make a trade now, though it does feel as though one is inevitable in the long term. Most clubs have two catchers sharing the catching duties these days. The Sox could certainly do that with Teel and Quero for the time being.
The designated hitter slot can also allow them to get both into the lineup fairly regularly, as they continue to develop as major leaguers. The Sox don’t have a full-time DH, though they might want to have their veteran outfielders in there from time to time. Luis Robert Jr., Andrew Benintendi and Mike Tauchman are all trade candidates and it would be good to keep them fresh and productive for trade possibilities, especially given Robert’s injury history. It’s also possible the roster is changed in the offseason via a trade of one of those three or perhaps even a non-tender of Tauchman.
At some point, a trade should be a real consideration, however. Even if Quero is the 1B catcher behind 1A Teel, other clubs might view him as a viable 1A option. The Sox could trade Quero to bolster another part of the roster, then use Lee or sign some veteran to back up Teel. It’s also theoretically possible that Quero surpasses Teel as the top option in Chicago and the inverse becomes a possibility, though as Fegan mentions, the Sox are probably committed to Teel since they made him such a key piece of the Garrett Crochet trade.
From the perspective of the Sox, there shouldn’t be urgency. The 2025 White Sox showed some progress relative to the 2024 squad, but that’s not saying much. Even the improved 2025 group still lost 102 games. The end of the rebuild is not imminent. This year’s free agent crop of catchers isn’t especially strong, which could tempt them to put Quero out there, but next year’s class doesn’t appear to be much better.
The Sox can continue using their big league playing time to focus on development. Unless they are bowled over by an offer, that can include Quero. As mentioned by Fegan, the Sox don’t feel Quero has reached his potential yet. Some signs of progress in the next year or two would only increase his trade value. By that time, the Sox might also have a better idea of which parts of the roster they need to target in the trade return, in order to best forge a path for future success.
Lee is out of options now, so he may have a hard time sticking around, though there is an argument for keeping him on the bench. As mentioned, the Sox may use the DH spot to have both Teel and Quero in the lineup regularly. If they indeed plan to do that, they could perhaps keep Lee around as a classic backup catcher who is ready to jump in if one of the other two suffers an injury.
Photo courtesy of Jesse Johnson, Imagn Images
The Angels gave him up for a few bad starts by Giolito when your playoff odds were already crap.
Kid can hit. Be nice to still have him.
Makes sense to trade him now, Teel will be getting the bulk of the catching duties and will likely be an All-Star rather soon.
Teel could also play 1B/LF too, offering unique roster flexibility down the line.
Aiden – Yes anything to get his bat in the lineup every day, he’s gonna be a major masher.
Sox have been playing them both fairly regularly- working out well
Both Teel/Quero in the same lineup has definitely benefited them rather than harming them.
Someone would have to part with a very good cheap OF. That is the major need for Getz to make happen.
Best I can offer is a slightly-used Johan Rojas.
That isn’t going to happen.
Tyler soderstrom, Lawrence butler, jj bleday, Denzel Clarke, Colby Thomas, Henry Bolte
A’s don’t need a catcher
I think they have to evaluate offers for Quero and Lee, even though I don’t want to trade Quero. Lee has great pop times and also has 14 homers in 502 MLB at-bats, so he has decent power too. He isn’t someone I would give away.
If they had a trade offer centered around either a legit 3B or RF for Quero, I’m making that trade. For Lee I’d gladly take multiple young prospects with tools that intrigue me.
Sox don’t need infielders, they desperately need outfielders badly.
They need corner infielders that can get on base and hit for power. In my dream world they trade for a good 3B and sign Pete Alonso.
Seems very likely that Colson ends up at 3B eventually. They are pretty loaded with MIs in the minors coming up and possibly another with possible #1 pick next year.
Alonso is getting old and has never been a good defensive first baseman. His bat and glove will only decline over the course of his next contract and likely relegate him to DH only duty. All this is also assuming that Alonso would even consider signing with a still rebuilding team with contenders like the Mets and Red Sox each being viable destinations this winter.
If the White Sox really want to “coax” minority owner Justin Ishbia into ponying up some extra cash this offseason before he takes full ownership come 2030 they ought to target either of the two star Japaneses 3B/1B this offseason along with their stud starting pitcher.
Quero has a lot of upside. He’s very young and has shown flashes. Being a switch hitter certainly helps. Needs help framing. Would like to see the Sox hang on to both and see if Lee can be a 4th OF
Big fat no on Alonso. They certainly need help at 1B but an old defensively challenged one is a hard pass.
Colson could end up at 3B, but especially with no apparent intention to contend (I don’t get it) in 2026, I don’t see a need a need to move him there yet. I want to see how he handles a full season at SS.
If signing Alonso would require a long contract, I’m not interested. I don’t think he will, and if that’s the case, the Sox should at least be kicking the tires.
Alonso settled for a short term contract last offseason in large part because of the QO attached to him. He’s free of it this winter and also coming off of a better season. Alonso will be getting a longer deal this time around and it won’t be with a non-contender like the White Sox.:-)
How do we know what difference “framing” makes? Are we supposed to think that umpires behind the plate are oblivious to a player who catches a ball and jerks it six inches up, down, or sideways into the strike zone? And what do umpires have to say about these efforts to gauge the framing ability of catchers?
Your information is wrong. Ishbia does not have the option to take full control himself until 2034. Uncle Jerry drinks the same Koolaid as Soros. It’s gonna be ugly for awhile.
2029 at minimum per agreement. A safe bet for Ishbia to take control is 2030/2031.
@Bopper: Strange that you would compare a politically conservative businessman like Reinsdorf to a very-liberal guy like Soros. I don’t see them as having much in common.
It would be a surprise to see minority owner Justin Ishbia having to wait until 2034 to assume full control of the White Sox. The current agreement states that Jerry Reinsdorf will have the option to sell the controlling interest to Ishbia beginning in 2029.
Reinsdorf will be 89 next February. He will be 90 the following winter when baseball will likely be in full lockout mode with MLB “hawk” JR pushing one last time for a salary cap similar to what his Bulls have in the NBA.
I believe that once the next CBA is agreed upon, the “Chairman” will finally ride off into the sunset. The other major factor that could also play into his departure is the resolution of the next White Sox stadium. The local political climate is not favorable for a publicly built stadium as the Bears have found out. The Ishbia family and their wealth will likely be needed to finance the next White Sox stadium, be it in Chicago or the suburbs.
Actually 90 next February and 91 the following winter btw. I highly doubt JR lives to 98 years of age.
Lee is out of options, so they wouldn’t get much for him.
@calcetines. It would be like a marsh for o’hoppe deal, both teams didn’t need them at the time. Now the angels need a CF and the Phillies need a catcher possibly. Quero wasn’t graded out well defensively, but he was so young. It was a maybe he could figure it. Doesn’t seem to be the case,im sure it’s just kicking the tires
Braden Montgomery will be 2026 Sox RF after
Spring training!
They don’t have to trade Quero yet. They could let Korey Lee be a 3rd catcher/4th outfielder on the bench to allow Teel and Quero to be in the same lineup. At minimum I would want to see Quero develop for another 2 or 3 years before trading him.
I think that’s the plan. They should be listening though and only move him if it makes sense
I think it would be a mistake to trade Quero too early bc Teel could still flame out as a catcher, unlike Quero Teel offers some roster flexibility and he could shift into 1B/LF.
Q is going to be real good- switch hitter- contact hitter- pick off specialist. Way to young to trade- if he gets to play everyday like they did it the second half with him and Teel in the same lineup that would be great. As for framing- I think it will not matter in the future with the new computer strike/ ball zone.
Lee had a 6K game in the minors, so it goes without saying that if he is a good fielder that the Rays want him.
He’s not a good fielder, although he does have a cannon arm.
Welcome to the 3rd Annual edition of “Luis Robert Jr is a trade candidate”
The Phillies need to get younger and this would be a good way. I wonder if McGarry and Rojas would do it.
No. Not even close. Both are terrible. White Sox don’t even answer the phone.
Absolutely. The White Sox already have plenty of stiffs and adding Rojas and McGarry to the roster only increases the inventory of bad players.
Sox, do not trade Quero, unless its a no-brainer deal.
This! There is always a high enough price to grease the skids, but given what young catchers with his profile tend to bring back (something useful, but hardly a big needle-moving return) I’d rather retain my full options at that tough position than cash out on some and be left all-in on Teel (and I write that as a Red Sox fan who has full confidence in him…one just never knows, and teams need multiple catching options anyway).
It’s not like Quero have burned all of his options unlike Lee. Maybe the White Sox could convert Lee into a 3rd catcher/4th outfielder to allow both Quero and Teel in the same lineup 2/3 times a week.
2-3 times a week? If they keep both, they should carry Lee as a third catcher so they can both just rotate majority of the time at C/DH and be in the lineup almost every day.
I guess
They as in just Quero and Teel. Lee can get into games every now and then but neither Q or Teel should be out of the lineup much.
Or just keep two catchers and not worry about maybe losing the DH spot once or twice a year if you want to pinch run for one of them late and close.
I kept saying they should do that last year. Not a big deal if you move your DH to C due to injury and lose the DH spot. You have other guys to pinch hit when that spot comes up. Especially in a season that doesn’t matter.
I saw it happen live last year when the Nationals’ backup catcher broke a finger in the third inning against the Yankees in a Wednesday afternoon game, and their regular catcher had to move from DH. Washington was down 9 at the time….
Trading a young catcher too early could have damaging consequences long term.
You need to @braves for them to get it, I think.
No reason whatsoever to trade any pre-arb position players. If they want to flip any of the Sean Burke/Jonathan Cannon/Davis Martin 5th starter guys, that’s fine, but the position player side of things still needs at least another 2 years (probably closer to 3 years) of development.
Move Robert to LF to avoid the injury bug so trade Lee.
Queero is here-o!
Pronounced “Care-Oh”
Quero queries? Teel deals? Getz bossa nova? I hope he’s not Desafinado.
No way that they should trade either Quero or Teel this year unless a playoff team gets totally stupid or is desperate at the trade deadline due to injuries.
Lee is surplus. He is irrelevant.
How important is “framing” when the ABS system is in effect? The Sox don’t have to do anything spectacular now, just continue to develop prospects. Their success in 1-2 years then allows for signing bigger names free agents. Get back to .500, then make the next step.
@Emoney123. I believe they aren’t using it full-time. Haven’t seen how many you get, but i heard it’s you win, and you keep it.
If it’s like it was in AAA, you get two incorrect challenges. Successful challenges don’t go against you.
@spiltfingeredpujol. Yeah they were testing both. Im not sure if every stadium even had it running. But yeah its the challenge one, so pitch framing still matters. I would be fine with three a game.
Rays want Lee as their 1A; will they offer Magnum?
Getz can kill his opinion, no one should put much stock in it anyway. He’s nothing more than Reinsdorf’s pawn. He was never qualified to be a GM in the first place. Now he’s Jerry’s puppet.
A real GM would listen to any offers out there now while his value is high . Lee is nothing more than a backup, but that’s valuable. He plays good defense and his contract is cheap.Teel becomes the primary with Lee a capable reserve. If a contender will trade a high ranking Outfielder or SS, you make the deal now, and continue to develop minor league talent without rushing players to the big leagues like they have done in the past just to justify Reinsdorf’s low budgets.
If you keep both now, you run the risk of not developing either properly, and losing Lee for nothing. If Teel is not a starting caliber catcher your roster is screwed and the rebuild is failing
Ok? Getz said on the record that catching is gold and Teel could always move to 1B/LF if he flames out as a catcher. The Sox don’t have to trade Quero right now. I want to see Quero developed for 2-3 years at minimum before trading him for a position of need. Korey Lee could be a 3rd catcher/4th outfielder to allow both Teel/Quero in the same lineup most games.
Why not continue continue developing Quero? Where’s the problem of having 2 very good young catchers? I also think later down the line Teel will windup at 1st due to his better hit skill than Quero. And could also catch 2-3 times a week. It’d be crazy too trade either one if you really building a team for the future.
Move one of the catchers to first base and Vargas back to 3rd and you have a young infield which is descent snd will get better
Yes, Quero is the most logical choice to bring a quality starting OF.
Let Quero develop for a few more seasons before trading him for a positional need (CF and LF). For the first time in forever, catching is a strength in the org.
Catching is a strength and up the middle
I know the odds are nearly 3:1 against, but I’m still hoping the Sox get the first overall pick and the chance to draft Cholowsky. That’d improve their up-the-middle strength even more. Never a bad thing to have a surplus of capable SS.
I would prefer the best OF prospect in the first round but a SS is fine with me.
You really don’t understand how this works. The Sox are two years away from making the playoffs. Why would they hold on to three young catchers, when they need two outfielders?
Before your typical kneejerk response, maybe you should take a step back and think about why the Sox will be trading Quero for the best OF available.
Best
I’m not saying they shouldn’t listen for offers barring a drastic overpay.
You actually have it backwards: if they are 2 years away then they should absolutely hang on to 3 viable catchers at a prime position. Stockpile and see what you have
So, you think having three good catchers and one good outfielder is a wise way to approach 2027 (the year you want to win the division)?
Oh sorry I misinterpreted, thought you were saying they were far far away, instead of 2 yrs as in they’re close. You’re right, by then they should know what they want and what they need
This is a good example of why commenters who unreservedly ridicule the White Sox and their front office are trying to sell you old news or are simply piling on ignorantly. There isn’t a team in MLB that wouldn’t want to have two young catchers like Teel and Quero. And the Sox acquired both of them in great trades.
This thread is a good example of ignoring the trolls and reacting to other Sox fans and smart baseball people
“Meanwhile” should START the sentence, not come in the middle between commas.