Catcher Korey Lee won’t be breaking camp with the White Sox, according to MLB.com’s Scott Merkin. Since Lee is out of minor league options, the Sox would first have to designate Lee for assignment and hopes that he clears waivers in order to outright him off their 40-man roster and send him to Triple-A. Or, if the White Sox are ready to move on from Lee entirely, the team could shop Lee to any catcher-needy teams who might be interested in a trade.
As of a few weeks ago, Chicago was seemingly ready to go into 2026 with three catchers on the active roster. Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero would get at-bats both as a catcher and as a designated hitter, and Lee would be kept as more of a traditional backup so the Sox wouldn’t run into any issues by having Teel and Quero in the lineup at the same time. Teel then sustained a Grade 2 hamstring strain during the World Baseball Classic, putting the catcher on the shelf for 4-6 weeks and at best a return around the middle of April.
Rather than just stick with Quero and Lee until Teel is healthy, the White Sox signed Reese McGuire to a one-year, $1.2MM guarantee earlier today, a day after McGuire opted out of a previous minor league deal with the Brewers. It is possible Lee might’ve been an odd man out even if Teel hadn’t gotten hurt and the Sox just wanted to stick with two catchers, but McGuire’s addition mean that some kind of decision about the catching depth chart was inevitable.
It was a “really hard decision” to make, as manager Will Venable told Merkin (multiple links). “Korey Lee was outstanding this camp. He’s a really important member of this organization, great relationships in the clubhouse. Someone I personally love and have grown to respect,” Venable said. As to what is next for Lee, the Sox skipper said “we’re going to work it out over the next couple of days, see what transpires. There will be a process in place.”
Lee was selected 32nd overall by the Astros in the 2019 draft, and drew some top-100 prospect attention during his time in Houston’s farm system. The Astros seemed to prefer Martin Maldonado‘s steady defense and game-calling abilities, and then Yainer Diaz emerged as the team’s next catcher of the future, making Lee expendable enough to be dealt to Chicago for Kendall Graveman prior to the 2023 trade deadline.
The 2024 season represented Lee’s only real extended stint of Major League playing time, as 394 of his 530 career plate appearances came during a season that saw the White Sox post a 41-121 record. Lee’s lack of production contributed to the struggles, as he hit .210/.244/.347 with 12 home runs over his 394 PA, getting the majority of catching duties while Chuckie Robinson and his old Astros teammate Maldonado served in backup roles.
Heading into 2025, Lee was relegated behind Teel (acquired from the Red Sox as part of the Garrett Crochet blockbuster) and Quero (also acquired at the 2023 deadline in a trade with the Angels). The White Sox resisted trade offers for Teel and Quero as teams looked to capitalize on this apparent logjam, as the Sox wanted more time to evaluate both players as potential building blocks.
Though Lee hasn’t shown much at the plate and his framing skill has been called into question, Lee is considered a solid defensive catcher overall, good at throwing out baserunners and working with pitchers. Because teams are frequently short on catching depth, Lee is a good candidate to be claimed if the White Sox DFA him, which provides incentive for any interested teams to work out a trade now rather than take their chances on the waiver wire.
DFA and trade for International monies…
Astros are not interested in Lee (at least I hope not).
Don’t like this decision.
Rather carry Korey than Reese but maybe they can sneak him through waivers
Korey knows their pitcher, boneheaded move
I don’t understand why they don’t like Lee. Should have kept him on the roster and make a decision when Teel gets back.
SOX have had conversations about Lee with several teams, which indicates they & those teams know Lee will be claimed. Signing McGuire first reduces those other teams’ options, giving them added leverage to get something back in trade for Lee. Astros or Padres seem most likely trade partners down in waiver order.
Regardless, McGuire is better for the their staff as 2nd/3rd catcher. Framing & game calling can really help out a staff, especially one operating at the margins of respectability. So trade or release, it improves them…any kind of prospect in return is gravy.
I disagree. Signing McGuire takes away the Sox leverage as now the Sox can’t claim to be willing to keep Lee. Teams know he’ll be DFAd and will just wait to put in a claim instead of trading for him.
Releasing Lee does not improve the team and McGuire isn’t an upgrade over anyone.
There’s something weird going on as the Sox didn’t give Lee any chance last year and he’s also having a great spring.
I’m worried this is Getz being an amature GM.
Getz has definitely improved since the 2024 trainwreck season. It’s pretty clear Lee is just a backup catcher with speed, McGuire offers a bit more pop in the lineup plus he’s LH unlike Lee.
I assume (hope) the Sox have a Lee trade already set up with another team or else why sign McGuire.
The White Sox likely have a potential trade or 3 lined up for Korey Lee. They haven’t DFA’d him as I post just before midnight CT.
Reese McGuire has been added to their 40-man roster which already had one open spot prior to that. Another will open up shortly when RHP Mike Vasil is placed on the 60-day IL with his impending season ending TJ surgery.
Moving Lee will give the White Sox an additional open roster slot. The likely addition of SP Drew Thorpe to the 60-day will add another as he continues to rehab following his own TJ surgery last April will add another. The White Sox may not be done adding to the roster as other MLB team begin pairing down theirs.
Another factor playing into the White Sox catching decision is the quicker than expected progress of Kyle Teel from his Grade 2 hamstring injury. Teel isn’t moving around the White Sox clubhouse like a player who suffered that type of injury on March 10 while playing for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic.
Teel is expected to continue his rehab with the White Sox as they travel to Milwaukee and Miami to open their season. He will likely miss the home opening series versus Toronto during which his 10-day expected 10-day IL will expire anyway. Teel is hopeful of returning later during that home stand or for the beginning of their next road trip. mlb.com/whitesox/news/kyle-teel-hamstring-injury-i…
He strikes out a lot, so the Rays might just have their starting catcher.
He’d be an upgrade for Tampa, Houston & possibly Toronto as the 2nd catcher…
My first thought was Tampa. They have been acquiring catchers and hoping one sticks for a while.
A weird move by the Sox. I wish Lee well.
This is so weird to me, especially given that he’s not even arb eligible yet. I’ve watched him play and never thought he looked bad. If anything I liked the way he controlled the run game.
I’m disappointed they aren’t keeping him. He’s athletic enough to cover LF and even asked about the possibility if I’m not mistaken. But the Sox geniuses insisted he would only catch. If they exchange him for cash considerations I think I’ll write this team off for a while. There’s no reason to accept cash for a player in this day and age. At least take a wildcard minor leaguer. If he goes for nothing, that’s malpractice by Getz.
Maybe they think they can get more for him coming off a strong spring instead of a weak April.
Odd move. Hope they already have a trade partner for him. He’s a good backup
Likely to create a bidding war with the best teams in need of a catcher incentivized to work out a trade if they realize another club higher up is likely to claim.
Lee > McGuire by a lot.
Lee can hit and has great speed (not just by a catchers standards).
It seemed like a natural to keep Lee as Teel might not be ready to take catchers duties even when he is ready to bat and run. Squatting behind the plate has gotta be rough for a hamstring injury.
I’d nothing else, McGuire will be cut free once Teel is healthy. Why not give Lee those ABs? All the best to him wherever he ends up.
They better already have a decent trade lined up or this makes zero sense.
Statistically, McGuire is a far better defensive catcher than Lee..by quite a bit. At fangraphs, sort by all catchers over the past 5 seasons cumulatively and McGuire is 24th defensively, while Lee is 123rd. Offensively, Lee’s wRC+ of 54 is third to last, while McGuire’s is better at 81, with a lower K rate and more pitches seen. Add to that, McGuire hits left-handed, balancing Sosa & Meade’s righty bench bats, and has caught Kay previously. It’s an upgrade that will help their staff most importantly. The SOX are fortunate he became available when he did.
McGuire is 31 and will soon be ending his baseball playing career. Lee is 27 and primed to be one of the best backup catchers in the game for the next several seasons.
Last season, McGuire hit .218 with an OBP of .260 while Lee hit .257 with an OBP of .333
Lee has much more power, is a far superior baserunner, four years younger and has one of the strongest arms in the game. There’s no need to go back five years, when the situation is about the next three.
They both are not MLB batters and other than a defensive replacement should not get at bats. Sox should have signed Garver a month ago or just went with Romo.
Maybe the Sox should keep Lee and send Quero to AAA to improve his defense and learn to hit left-handed.
This makes about as much sense as when the Sox gave away Jake Burger to Miami for Jake Eder!