Padres Interested in White Sox Catcher as Trade Deadline Nears: Report

Entering the All-Star break, San Diego Padres catchers had combined for -1.8 Wins Above Replacement according to Baseball Reference, 30th in Major League Baseball.

Padres catchers fared a bit better (29th) according to FanGraphs' version of WAR, which weighs its metric more heavily for a catcher's defensive performance. Either way you cut it, the position has been a weak spot all season long in San Diego.

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It would not take much, in theory at least, for general manager A.J. Preller to find an upgrade over the current tandem of Elias Diaz and Martin Maldonado. As the July 31 trade deadline approaches, it would be a surprise if Preller did not go outside the organization to upgrade the Padres' catching depth.

Against this backdrop, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reported Monday that White Sox catcher Korey Lee "has drawn trade interest from the Padres."

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Lee "continues to be a glove-first catcher," Lin notes, "but he has shown some utility with his bat, hitting 12 big-league home runs last season and recording a .780 on-base plus slugging percentage this season in Triple A."

While not a big name, Lee appears to be a better fit with the Padres, who turned their catching duties over from Luis Campusano and Kyle Higashioka last year to Maldonado and Diaz this year with little success.

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While the White Sox have clearly shifted toward youth, turning the position over to rookies Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero, that's effectively buried Lee on the depth chart.

A former first-round draft pick (32nd overall) by the Houston Astros in 2019, Lee has only played 14 major league games this year after slashing .210/.244/347 in 125 games last year.

Korey Lee is leading the league in pop time this year. In 28 attempts he averages a 1.85 pop time, with an avg. exchange time of .64 seconds and an avg. velocity of 89 mph. pic.twitter.com/89Wc5Na8Br
— Xan Barksdale (@xanbarksdale) June 13, 2024

Those numbers might disqualify Lee from taking the lion's share of at-bats for a team with championship aspirations in 2025. But at 26, and with only one year of service time under his belt, Lee could plug into the Padres' catching rotation and see if a change of scenery serves him well.

Lee has played 175 major league games in his career with the Astros (2022) and White Sox (2023-25), who got him in exchange for Kendall Graveman in July 2023. Baseball America ranked Lee No. 70 overall in its pre-2022 Top 100 prospects list, making him among the more desirable trade chips by the time the Astros made their swap with the White Sox.

This one isn't coming back! Have a game Korey Lee!🔥 pic.twitter.com/JKxt5nVS7O
— Charlotte Knights (@KnightsBaseball) July 9, 2025

This season, Lee has a .262/.342/.438 slash line at Triple-A Charlotte, with a much better strikeout rate (29 in 146 plate appearances) compared to seasons past.

Perhaps Preller and White Sox counterpart Chris Getz are able to line up on a trade between now and the deadline. If so, Lee could represent a small but important upgrade at a position of need for the Padres — one that isn't likely to cost them much in terms of prospect capital or cash.

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