Could Chicago White Sox Put Rookie Catchers Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero In Same Lineup?

CHICAGO –– Rookie catchers Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero made some history this week, as part of the White Sox scorching-hot run since the All-Star break.

Teel powered the team to an 11-9 win over the Rays on Wednesday, going 4-for-5 with his first-career home run. The next game, a 12-5 win over the Cubs on Friday, Quero had four of the White Sox season-high 18 hits and increased his OPS to 1.122 in an 11-game stretch.

That made Quero and Teel just the sixth pair of catchers to record four hits in back-to-back games for the same team since 1901 and the first since Arizona’s Rod Barajas and Chad Moeller in September 2002. They’re also the only pair of rookie catchers to do so.

And broadly, they represent key pieces for a rebuilding White Sox organization after being acquired in significant trades. They dealt All-Star pitcher Lucas Giolito and right-hander Reynaldo Lopez to the Los Angeles Angels at the 2023 trade deadline for Quero and left-hander Ky Bush. In December 2024, they sent All-Star pitcher Garrett Crochet to the Boston Red Sox for four prospects: Teel, outfielder Braden Montgomery, middle infielder Chase Meidroth and right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez.

Quero and Teel having productive rookie seasons begs the question of whether the White Sox should more frequently put them in the same starting lineup. In 42 games since Teel made his debut on June 6, he has been the starting catcher in 21 games, with Quero on the bench. Quero has started 16 games at catcher, with Teel on the bench. There have been just five games in which Teel and Quero have been in the same starting lineup, split between catcher and designated hitter.

The White Sox have been hesitant to start them at the same time for several reasons, but could that change moving forward?

“It's a possibility,” manager Will Venable said Saturday. “We've done it a couple times early, with the DH. With where our roster is at, it's not a necessity, but to your point, there is value to getting these guys consistent at-bats. They're in an OK spot.”

“Obviously, the catcher position takes a lot out of you, and as they're navigating their first major league season, I don't think it's the worst thing to have two guys who are capable of having a good portion of at-bats. We might see that from time to time, but for right now, I think they're doing a great job."

Perhaps the most basic reason is that neither has significant experience playing other positions in the field, and the White Sox overall defensive ability could be weakened if one were to play out of position. Quero has only played catcher and designated in the minor and major leagues since his professional career began in 2021. The extent of Teel’s non-catching experience as a professional since 2023 is one inning in left field with the White Sox on June 19, but Venable was quick to dismiss that as an option going forward.

“Not unless we're in extra innings and an outfielder goes down and he's on the bench,” Venable said. “That was a pure emergency, no thought to make that a thing."

Teel played 25 games in the outfield at the University of Virginia and four during the Cape Cod League in the summer between college seasons. The possibility of him learning first base doesn’t seem likely, either.

“Well, I don’t have a first base glove,” Teel said before his MLB debut. “I’ve been using teammates’ first base gloves when I was in Charlotte, just getting ground balls. I really don’t know. I’m a catcher at the end of the day and that’s what I want to do for a long time. But obviously anyway I can help the team win.”

White Sox general manager also warned against reading too deeply into where players warm up pregame.

“Salvador Perez used to take balls at shortstop. Korey Lee takes balls at second base. Kyle is very athletic. He's capable of playing multiple positions quite honestly, but we believe in him as a catcher,” Getz said on June 6.

“That's where we feel like he's going to impact the game the most, with the way that Will and the staff utilize the roster and the versatility to give them as many weapons as possible. Obviously you get late in games and certain things happen, and you want to put the best foot forward in regards to optimizing a certain situation. It's not bad for a guy to have some level of comfort over there, but in the near-term, I certainly don't expect him to be playing first base.”

The last time both rookies were in the starting lineup together was June 23, with Teel catching and Quero as the designated hitter. While it hasn’t happened often –– just five times –– that's the far more likely alignment than one learning to play first base or an outfield position.

“I don't think another position is something that we're considering right now or at any point,” Venable said on June 24. “Those guys have a lot to learn and there's plenty of opportunity for them to do that."

Catcher is perhaps the most physically challenging position in baseball, and the White Sox don’t want to burn out their young talent in a rebuilding season. Quero and Teel also have the mentally strenuous task of learning a new pitching staff as rookies and building scouting reports and game plans for opponents they’ve never faced.

“The catching position is such a demanding role, I think it's something that perhaps isn't completely understood by the casual fan, or even people that have been around the game like myself,” Getz said. “But it's very, very demanding and it's only getting more demanding. So to have two guys that are capable and it can help you in so many different ways. To keep them energized and be able to get the best out of them, having two of them is not a bad thing. It's still an opportunity to develop certain areas of their game. You look at the receiving part, the throwing part, obviously the offensive side.”

“Sometimes if there's a certain element of someone's game that needs to be worked on, it's tough to really dial in if they're playing so often. So to get a little bit of a rest and continue to develop and work with our coaches and certain aspects I think is a great opportunity. So we're looking at it as a positive. I think it is a real positive. If we feel like one player isn't getting enough reps to stay sharp and continuing to progress, you make an adjustment.”

Another reason the White Sox don’t like to start both players is because of what happened on June 14 against the Texas Rangers, when Quero started at catcher and Teel served as the designated hitter.

A game that went to the 11th inning saw Brooks Baldwin pinch run for Quero and score the game-tying run in the eighth inning. That forced Teel to move to catcher, and as a result, the White Sox lost the designated hitter spot.

But the White Sox didn’t have any position players left on their bench to pinch hit, so pitcher Tyler Alexander had to bat when his spot in the order came up. That happened in a key spot, too, with two runners on base and two outs in a tie game in the top of the 10th inning. Alexander grounded out, and the White Sox wound up losing 5-4 in extras.

The White Sox want to avoid that moving forward.

“We've tried to using the DH and sometimes that can hamstring you a little bit with what you can do with the bench that night or if someone goes down,” Getz said.

A counterpoint to that could be that giving Teel and Quero more at-bats by using the designated hitter spot helps their development as hitters. That could be more beneficial for the White Sox in the long-run than it is detrimental in the short-term to run into a situation like the Rangers game and lose another game in a non-playoff contending season.

But by the end of the season, Teel and Quero should still finish with a healthy amount of plate appearances and gain valuable experience catching in the major leagues for the first time in their careers. And perhaps most importantly, their production at the plate –– with Teel slashing .279/.388/.372 and Quero at .277/.354/.366 –– provides some optimism for the White Sox future.

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