The White Sox made a last second pivot in their catching plans just a few days before the season started, bringing back old friend Reese McGuire and putting Korey Lee’s future with the organization in doubt. Many speculated the White Sox would trade Lee before Opening Day, but no such trade came together, and Lee was designated for assignment as the White Sox set their 26-man roster. The team went into the season with Lee’s status pending, and the team announced Saturday that Lee cleared waivers and would be optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. It was a bit of an unexpected resolution, but it shows how wrong White Sox fans, including myself, were about Lee’s value.
Korey Lee cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Charlotte
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) March 28, 2026
Lee, 27, was originally acquired by the White Sox in the 2023 trade that sent reliever Kendall Graveman to Houston. He played in just 24 games upon his arrival, but went just 5-for-65 in that span. Lee was one of the White Sox primary catching options in 2024, but he posted an OPS of .591 in 125 games during that season. He began the 2025 season on the White Sox roster, but the arrival of Edgar Quero and Kyle Teel made Lee the odd man out, and he spent the majority of the season in Triple-A. Lee did have a .762 OPS in 26 games last season, so the results were a bit better than in previous seasons.
Now out of minor league options, Lee entered 2026 camp on the outside looking in, but the preseason injury to Kyle Teel seemed to open a roster spot for him. His strong spring made it at least mildly interesting to see how he’d do, but the White Sox had other plans. The team signed McGuire and elected to part ways with Lee.
White Sox fans valuation of Lee was proven wrong
I was among the group of fans confused by the decision, but the idea of trading Lee for an asset, then doing the same with McGuire in a few weeks certainly made it make sense. That being said, I was pretty surprised when the White Sox couldn’t find a taker for Lee and elected to DFA him instead. Now, knowing the result of his time on waivers, it’s evident to me that the outrage over his departure was unfounded.
To put it simply, nobody was interested in Korey Lee. After Lee was designated for assignment, 29 other teams had the opportunity to claim him and add him for free. Several teams are in need of a catcher, and many teams feel like adding catching depth is always a smart move, but still, nobody bit. I think Lee’s strong spring and league-average performance last season has clouded the fact that he’s a career .193 hitter at the big league level and doesn’t grade out particularly strong defensively. The White Sox clearly felt that Reese McGuire was a better option to back up Quero, and it appears all 29 other teams felt that their current options were better than adding Lee.
With Lee back in tow, the White Sox now have several options at catcher aside from their two main starters. McGuire is on the roster for now, though how long he’ll stay there is unclear. Drew Romo is on the 40-man roster and grades out as a solid defender. He could be the next name called if another catcher is needed. Lee may be 5th in line when it comes to catching depth, and there’s a reasonable chance he doesn’t play in the big leagues this season despite returning to the organization. As much as organizations like to hype up their own players and get fans excited, it’s now abundantly clear how the White Sox, and every other organization, feel about Korey Lee.
So to those Sox fans, myself included, who were confused and upset about the organization’s decision to move on from Lee: It’s okay to admit that we were wrong. It's happened before and it'll happen again.