Korey Lee Makes Impact In Return To Chicago White Sox Lineup

CHICAGO –– Korey Lee was ready.

On the second Major League pitch he's seen since June 5, he drove Kansas City Royals starter Noah Cameron's changeup 392 feet to left field for a two-run home run.

"It was great," Lee said after playing in his first game since Thursday in Triple-A. "Just staying ready, staying locked, talking to [the hitting coaches] Joel [McKeithan], talking to Marcus [Thames], being on the same page as them and executing my plan."

This angle of Korey Lee's home run is pure cinema 😳 pic.twitter.com/qOS6TyqoOQ
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 26, 2025

Lee and Brooks Baldwin homered in the White Sox 7-0 victory Monday night at Rate Field, while Lee, Curtis Mead, Miguel Vargas and Lenyn Sosa recorded multi-hit games. It's the sixth time in the last seven games that the White Sox have scored seven-plus runs.

Entering the game, they ranked third in MLB in runs per game, batting average and home runs since the All-Star break, as well as sixth in OPS. Colson Montgomery has been a big reason for that, ranking third in RBI (34) and fourth in home runs (13) since the All-Star break, but the White Sox had a big night offensively Monday without the rookie shortstop.

It's a far cry from what Lee remembers about the White Sox in April.

"It's incredible," he said. "A lot of the young guys, obviously they're getting their feet wet up here, starting to learn themselves, starting to learn how to play a big-league baseball game. Obviously we're all still learning that and there's a lot of room to grow and we're gonna continue to do that."

The team faced Cameron last week in Kansas City and couldn't get much going in the 3-1 loss, mustering just one run off the left-handed rookie. Manager Will Venable said pregame that their right-handed hitters chased too many pitches inside against Cameron on Aug. 15, so they needed to adjust and make him throw more pitches over the plate.

The result this time around was far better. Rookie Chase Meidroth led off with a single, and it quickly became a 3-0 White Sox lead after doubles from Edgar Quero, Lenyn Sosa and Curtis Mead. Lee added his home run in the third, and Baldwin went back-to-back for his ninth long ball of the season.

"We did a really nice job of cycling through some pitches off the plate," Venable said. "When he did throw it over the plate, we made him pay for it. Really nice adjustment for the guys. That adjustment paid off."

Lee, the White Sox starting catcher in 2024, was the odd man out in 2025 in a catching trio that featured top-70 prospects Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero. After appearing in just 14 games in the Major Leagues, Lee was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on June 6, where he'd spend the majority of his season.

Lee credited his brother, Kellen, who's a mental skills coach with the Seattle Mariners, for helping him have a positive mindset while in the Minor Leagues.

"Healthy mindset," Lee said. "Shoutout to my brother. He's done great for me throughout the time, just talking to him. It's the same game. Just went down there, just playing the same baseball game that you play here and treat it like the big leagues."

Teel and Quero could have continued covering innings behind the plate in the final five weeks, but the White Sox viewed recalling Lee as a way to get the rookie catchers in the lineup more frequently while maintaining flexibility at the end of games with a third catcher on the bench. It's also a way of giving them rest while still having a capable big-league catcher.

So on Friday, they designated infielder Josh Rojas for assignment and recalled an excited Lee, who caught Shane Smith's seven scoreless innings on Monday and homered in his first at-bat.

"How he’s handled this stretch in Triple-A to keep himself ready to go for this opportunity says a lot about his attitude [with] this whole thing and being able to contribute and lead the way for us," Venable said. "It was awesome."

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