We all know by now that the Chicago White Sox are not going to bring Yasmani Grandal back to be their full-time catcher. Grandal was slowing down and wasn’t as effective as he had been in the past.
The White Sox even played Korey Lee, another catching prospect, at the end of the season in preparation for the inevitable. You could see the writing on the wall at the end of the season.
Grandal was going to be gone.
We have talked about Lee before and now it’s time to focus our attention on Edgar Quero. The White Sox acquired Quero from the Los Angeles Angels at around the trade deadline as the Sox sent pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez to LA.
The White Sox also got left-handed pitcher Ky Bush. With Quero, the White Sox got one of the best catching prospects in all of baseball.
The Chicago White Sox might have a gem of a prospect in Edgar Quero.
In fact, Quero instantly became the White Sox's second-best prospect in their farm system when he was acquired. Baseball experts had him rated, as an overall prospect, in the mid-60s.
The Chicago White Sox got themselves a real value player when they traded away Giolito and Lopez.
Now, what will they do with Quero? What does his timeline look like for getting into the majors? What does he bring to the table in terms of talent and ability?
In taking a deeper look at Quero, he is currently 20 years old and hails from Cuba. He came to the Los Angeles Angels in 2021 and has played a good bit of baseball in the minor leagues.
If we look at his 2023 stats a little bit and see how he did at the plate, we will concentrate on the games he played with the Birmingham Barons one of the White Sox’s minor league affiliates. He was at bat 112 times in 31 games.
He hit the ball 31 times, having 44 total runs, 3 home runs and 22 RBIs. His slash line in those 31 games was .277/.366/.393.
There is still some work that Quero needs to do to continue to develop and improve. He may not be ready for the big leagues just yet (remember he’s only 20 and hasn’t seen a whole lot of action in the minors). He’s going to have to keep working if he’s going to make it into the majors and have a decent career there.
As it stands right now, the Chicago White Sox are really without a catcher. They have Lee, who appears to be the front-runner for the starting spot right now. Like Quero, Lee needs some work.
The Sox will likely bring in a free-agent catcher to help them solidify the position while Lee improves and Quero develops. Quero’s performance in the minors in 2024 is going to dictate just how soon the White Sox bring him up.
There are going to be other factors such as injury and performance by the other members of the catching squad but in reality, we could see Quero in the majors by the end of 2024.