Korey

Lee

Lee remains with Chicago as organizational catching depth after passing through waivers unclaimed earlier this week. The 27-year-old will remain stashed at Triple-A behind Edgar Quero and Reese McGuire while Kyle Teel (hamstring) is on the shelf.

We thought the White Sox still held some fondness for Lee, but picking up Reese McGuire to replace him showed that that wasn’t really the case. Lee would almost surely get claimed off waivers if he had options left and could be stashed in Triple-A, but as is, it seems more likely that he’ll clear.

Lee’s chances of making the roster were tenous, and then it became obvious that the 27-year-old wouldn’t break camp with the team after Chicago signed Reese McGuire. The team will likely work out a trade for a team looking for a backup backstop, and if not, he’ll hit the waiver wire.

The White Sox might have kept Lee as a third catcher anyway, but now he’s locked into making the team as Edgar Quero’s backup while Kyle Teel spends at least the beginning of April on the injured list with a hamstring strain. Lee, who is out of options, is 10-for-26 with two homers and three doubles this spring. Oddly enough, he’s also stolen four bases. He’s 6-for-9 stealing bases in 187 career major league games.

It definitely looked like an IL-type injury if it had been the regular season, and Opening Day is now probably in question for the 24-year-old. If Teel is sidelined then, the White Sox will likely carry just two catchers in Edgar Quero and Korey Lee. They’ve been considering putting all three on the roster, since Quero and Teel were expected to see considerable time at DH.

Lee spent much of last season in Triple-A with the White Sox content to go with two rookie catchers in Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero, but he did come back up for the final five weeks, allowing the team to use one of its catchers at DH. That might again be the plan this season, as the White Sox have left themselves plenty of flexibility to keep Teel and Quero in the lineup at the same time. Plus, Lee is out of options, so the White Sox would risk losing him if they tried to send him down.

The White Sox wanted Lee up as insurance as they prepared to have Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero in the lineup together as the catcher and DH more frequently, and he’s not expected to start often. Still, he got the nod against a lefty tonight and collected his first homer in 35 major league plate appearances this season. He had 12 while hitting .210/.244/.347 in 394 plate appearances as the White Sox’s primary catcher last year.

The White Sox are going to roll with three catchers for now with Lee backing up rookies Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero. The 27-year-old backstop got into 14 games earlier this season for Chicago. He’s spent the last two months back in the minors after Teel was promoted to the big leagues.

Lee is sent down to make room for Kyle Teel on the active roster. The 26-year-old will be organizational depth for Chicago in the minors, but it’s not hard to see a team having interest in Lee as a backup backstop if the White Sox were to put him on the market.

Lee returns to fortify Chicago’s catching mix after missing nearly seven weeks recovering from a left ankle sprain that sent him to the shelf back in early April. The 26-year-old backstop will split playing time with top prospect Edgar Quero moving forward.