The White Sox selected Teel's contract from Triple-A Charlotte on Friday.
The 23-year-old is poised to make his MLB debut after posting a .295/.394/.492 slash line with eight homers and seven steals in 50 games for Charlotte to begin the season. Teel, who was acquired from the Red Sox as part of the Garrett Crochet trade in December, should split playing time behind the plate with Edgar Quero following Korey Lee's demotion to Triple-A on Friday. Teel has also been taking reps at first base but has yet to see game action there at the professional level, so he may need some time to get more comfortable at the position. The White Sox could also DH either of the young backstops to get them more playing time.
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White Sox's Kyle Teel: On base three times in debut
Rotowire
Teel went 1-for-2 with a run scored and two walks Friday against the Royals.
Teel made his big-league debut Friday night, hitting sixth while starting behind the plate. He worked a walk in his first plate appearance and laced a single to left field in the fourth inning for his first big-league hit. Teel should be a regular in the White Sox's lineup, though it remains unclear whether he will mix in at first base or designated hitter in addition to his work at catcher.
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White Sox's Kyle Teel: Batting sixth in MLB debut
Rotowire
Teel is starting behind the plate and batting sixth Friday against the Royals.
The 23-year-old will immediately enter the starting lineup after being added to the big-league roster Friday, and he'll do the catching for right-hander Davis Martin. Teel had an .886 OPS with eight homers and seven steals in 50 games with Triple-A Charlotte prior to being promoted, and he could take the No. 1 catching job from Edgar Quero with a strong start to his MLB career.
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White Sox's Kyle Teel: Joining ChiSox
Rotowire
The White Sox are expected to select Teel's contract from Triple-A Charlotte on Friday, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston reports.
After slashing .295/.394/.492 with eight homers, 30 RBI, 34 runs scored and seven steals through 50 games with Charlotte, Teel will now report to Chicago for his first career stint in the majors. The 23-year-old has only ever played catcher during his professional career; however, the team has been getting him fielding practice at first base over the past several days. With fellow prospect Edgar Quero already starting behind the plate most days for the White Sox and batting .256 on the year, learning a new position would certainly help Teel's chances of cracking the lineup regularly. That being said, it will likely take a while for him to feel comfortable enough at first base to begin playing there in major-league games.
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White Sox's Kyle Teel: Taking grounders at first base
Rotowire
Teel has been working out at first base recently at Triple-A Charlotte, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.
Teel has yet to play a position other than catcher in pro ball, and it's unlikely he'll be moved off that position on a full-time basis anytime soon. However, with Edgar Quero also vying for reps behind the plate, it makes sense for Teel to get some reps at another position. Teel is slashing .289/.394/.491 with eight home runs and seven stolen bases over 48 games with Charlotte in 2025.
The White Sox reassigned Teel to minor-league camp Monday.
Though Teel and Edgar Quero are two of the more highly regarded catching prospects not just in the White Sox organization but in all of baseball, the duo will likely split time behind the plate and at designated hitter at Triple-A Charlotte to begin the season before making their respective MLB debuts later on in 2025. The White Sox appear set to proceed with Korey Lee as their No. 1 catcher, but after he posted a .591 OPS over 394 plate appearances in 2024, he likely won't be tough to dislodge atop the depth chart once the organization is confident Teel and/or Quero are big-league ready. As a member of the Red Sox organization last season, Teel slashed .288/.386/.433 with 13 home runs and 12 steals over 112 games at the Double-A and Triple-A levels.
Teel is 5-for-15 with two home runs and a 4:3 K:BB this spring.
Teel came into White Sox camp seemingly a long shot to make the team, and that probably remains the case given that he's made just two starts (and just one at catcher). However, he's undoubtedly made a good first impression after landing with Chicago this offseason in the trade that sent Garrett Crochet to the Red Sox. Fellow catching prospect Edgar Quero has not made a single start this spring. The White Sox seem likely to go with a Korey Lee/Matt Thaiss combo behind the plate to open the season, although non-roster invitee Omar Narvaez is also in the mix.
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