The Chicago White Sox have been among the more surprising teams in MLB this season — they rank second in the American League Central and they haven't had a record of .500 or over this late in any season since 2022.
Slugging first baseman Munetaka Murakami has been a huge part of Chicago's success, with 17 homers over 47 games. The White Sox have not had the help of star young catcher Kyle Teel during this successful early run and they won't get him back anytime soon.
Teel has been sidelined for the entire season with a hamstring injury he sustained while playing with the scrappy underdogs Team Italy during the World Baseball Classic. The former Boston Red Sox prospect was in the middle of a rehab assignment when he experienced an unfortunate setback.
Teel sprained his lateral collateral ligament (LCL) during his May 16 rehab appearance with the Triple-A Charlotte Knights. The new injury will keep him sidelined for another three to six weeks and he won't be able to join the White Sox until at least June.
White Sox catcher and former Red Sox prospect Kyle Teel suffers LCL tear as setback from hamstring injury recovery
This is disappointing news for Chicago, which would undoubtedly love Teel's bat back in its lineup. The backstop slashed .273/.375/.411 over 78 games as a rookie last season and he finished the year as one of the clubs better hitters.
The White Sox are missing Teel more than usual since their other former top catching prospect, Edgar Quero, hasn't performed as well as he did last season. Quero is slashing .174/.262/.217 over 33 games this season. He may finally heating up, however — he walked off the White Sox's May 17 game against their crosstown opponent, the Chicago Cubs, and he's batting .222/.238/.389 in his last seven games.
In the wake of trading Teel for Garrett Crochet at the 2024-25 Winter Meetings, the Red Sox's stash of catching prospects is rather underwhelming. Johanfran Garcia is breaking out in Double-A, but he's the best name in the system, still a ways from the big leagues. There were rumors that the Red Sox would've traded back for Teel over the offseason and Boston fans loved the sound of such a deal, but nothing came of them.
Red Sox fans still have a soft spot for Teel and look forward to seeing him become a thriving big leaguer alongside Chase Meidroth and the other players from the Crochet trade. Hopefully his LCL sprain is the last setback on his road to recovery.
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