The White Sox are seeking a catcher on the trade market, report Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic. That comes in response to losing Kyle Teel to a left ankle sprain earlier this week. Manager Will Venable initially said the team anticipated it to be a 6-12 week absence.
Teel told Scott Merkin of MLB.com last night that reevaluation revealed the sprain was a little lower than first believed. He said that could move his recovery timeline up into the 5-8 week range, though the Sox are still going to be without their second-year catcher for some time. Chicago has a Drew Romo and Edgar Quero combination for the time being.
That’s been the case for much of the year, as Teel was sidelined by hamstring and knee issues until late June. He struggled in 19 games upon returning, while neither Quero nor Romo has produced much all year. Romo hit a few home runs after being called up in late April but hasn’t provided anything at the plate for nearly three months. Quero isn’t regarded as a strong defensive catcher and struggled at the dish earlier in the season, leading the Sox to option him when Teel made his season debut.
The end result is that Sox catchers have been the least productive group in MLB. They’ve hit .163/.241/.265 across 391 plate appearances, putting them dead last in all three slash categories. They’ve also been charged for the second-most passed balls and allowed the third-most wild pitches. Quero and Romo have been good at throwing out baserunners, but there hasn’t been else positive in their respective performances.
Catching nevertheless wasn’t expected to be a deadline priority. Teel is still the long-term answer. The centerpiece of the Garrett Crochet return from Boston, he hit .273/.375/.411 with eight homers in 78 games as a rookie last year. This just hasn’t been his year and the Sox are holding a narrow 1.5 game lead over the Guardians in the AL Central. They should look for a veteran stopgap, potentially a rental whom they wouldn’t expect to re-sign.
Ryan Jeffers is the best impending free agent catcher. The Twins could move him but might be reluctant to send him a team they only trail in the division by 4.5 games. Cincinnati’s Tyler Stephenson would be a strong fit as an impending free agent whose bat has picked up following a dreadful start.
The A’s should be open to moving backup Jonah Heim, another rental, for a fringe prospect. Atlanta could move Joey Bart in anticipation of getting Sean Murphy back from injury. The Rays and Yankees are known to be in the market for a significant upgrade behind the dish. If one of those teams lands someone like Jeffers or Hunter Goodman, perhaps Austin Wells or Nick Fortes shake loose as a change of scenery option.
While catching now looks like the biggest lineup question, Chicago still figures to be focused primarily on pitching. Jon Morosi of The MLB Network notes that they’re indeed in the rotation market, and they’re among the teams reportedly evaluating Clay Holmes as he nears his return from a broken fibula.
The Sox’s rotation has held up better than expected given the personnel. Davis Martin was fantastic early on. He has tailed off considerably since the end of May, but Sean Burke has quietly been one of the best pitchers in the American League over the last month. It falls off after that. Anthony Kay and Erick Fedde have each managed a low-4.00s ERA despite a fifth starter’s strikeout and walk profile. Rookie Noah Schultz hasn’t been nearly efficient enough in his first 12 big league starts.
