White Sox Get Brutal News on Kyle Teel After He Was on the Cusp of Return
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Just when it looked like Kyle Teel was on the brink of making his 2026 White Sox debut, the injury bug took a bite.
The team revealed on Monday that the second-year catcher has sustained a right LCL injury, per Brooke Fletcher of CHSN. The news comes after Teel suffered some soreness in his right knee after the Charlotte Knights game against the Norfolk Tides. He had three at-bats with a hit and a walk before exiting for Korey Lee. According to Jesse Rogers, the initial plan was to shut Teel down for a couple of days before re-evaluating.
The confirmed LCL sprain, however, has now put another lengthy absence on his plate. Teel will need 3-to-6 weeks of rest and rehab before potentially making his return to the field. It's an absolutely brutal blow for the Sox, who have been surging in recent weeks and were hoping to build on that momentum by adding one of their best hitters back into the lineup.
White Sox Will Remain Without Kyle Teel for a Several Weeks
Kyle Teel was trending up in recent days, showing zero setbacks with his hamstring injury. The 24-year-old first sustained the strain during the World Baseball Classic after hitting a double. It wasn't until May 12 that Teel was finally allowed to play in his first rehab assignment. He has since gone on to appear in four games for the organization's Triple-A squad.
Teel didn't need long to get back into the swing of things. He popped a home run in only his second at-bat of the year, going on to hit .267 with a .857 OPS over his 15 at-bats. Teel told Future Sox' Jeff Cohen on May 15 that the plan was for him to catch a full nine innings this past weekend. Teel only made it through one of those games before the setback emerged.
Of course, the Sox have fared surprisingly well without Teel to begin the year. They are fresh off a Crosstown Classic victory, picking up two straight over the Cubs. The latest win even came in walk-off fashion thanks to fellow second-year catcher Edgar Quero. This moved them to 24-22 on the season and just 1.0 game out of the top spot in the AL Central.
Still, Quero's start to the year has left a lot to be desired, so much so that Drew Romo got a call-up this past month and has seen a fair share of playing time. This has made Teel's return all the more highly anticipated. Alas, the team is now looking at mid-June as the earliest Teel might return. In reality, though, fans could be waiting all the way until July for him to finally make his season debut.
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Elias Schuster is a sports journalist and content creator from the northern suburbs of Chicago. A graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he has covered the Bulls since 2019-20 and previously served as the editor of BN Bulls at Bleacher Nation. He has been the Publisher for Bulls On SI since December of the 2025-26 season. When he isn't obsessing over hoops, Elias spends his time obsessing over practically every other sport – much to his wife's dismay. He also loves strolling the streets of Chicago for the best cozy bar or restaurant to set up shop and write his next article.
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