The White Sox can't catch a break with their actual catcher. Kyle Teel is heading to the injured list again, this time with a high ankle sprain that reportedly could keep him out anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks, according to reporting out of Chicago. For a rebuild that's been leaning hard on Teel as a foundational piece, that's a brutal number to see.
White Sox place their catcher on the IL. t.co/Um9xlb4TnS
Teel is the headliner of the return White Sox GM Chris Getz got from Boston when he shipped Garrett Crochet to the Red Sox before the 2025 season. Boston's No. 14 overall pick in 2023, Teel was billed as a left-handed-hitting catcher with real strike-zone control and enough athleticism to be more than a bat-first backstop. The White Sox have reportedly shut down every attempt by Boston to buy him back, which tells you how much they value the kid even with the injury history piling up.
And the injury history is the real problem here. This isn't Teel's first IL trip of the year — he'd already missed time with hamstring and knee issues, including an earlier stint on the 60-day IL, before finally getting back on the field. He's reportedly appeared in just 19 games this season because of it. Now the ankle, suffered attempting a tag at home plate, sends him right back to the shelf.
Chicago has recalled catcher Edgar Quero from Triple-A Charlotte to cover behind the plate while Teel is out, per multiple reports. Quero's no stranger to the org and gives the Sox a serviceable stopgap, but he's not the long-term answer the front office was banking on when they built this rebuild around Teel's bat and glove.
The timing stings too. With the trade deadline bearing down, every roster subtraction in Chicago gets magnified — not because the White Sox are buyers, but because the whole point of tearing things down was to stockpile pieces like Teel who'd be part of the next competitive window. Losing him for a chunk of the summer, again, is one more reminder that this rebuild is still very much a work in progress.
For now, the White Sox will lean on Quero and whatever catching depth they've got in the system while Teel rehabs. The 6-to-12 week window puts a potential return sometime in September, if things go well — which, for Teel's 2026 season so far, would be a welcome change of pace.