White Sox can no longer afford to be patient with this struggling youngster

The overall story of the White Sox 2026 season has been one of improvement. With the team sitting in striking distance of first place in the AL Central for the first time in several years, White Sox fans find themselves fantasizing about playing meaningful baseball late into the year, and the word playoffs has even been thrown around. It’s become clear that the White Sox are no longer trying to lose games and the focus has shifted toward winning as many games as possible with the big league roster. Among the biggest obstacles for the White Sox in the early going, however, are the big-time struggles of second-year catcher Edgar Quero, and his poor performance could be reaching a breaking point. 

Quero, 23, showed promise during his debut season, hitting .268 and posting a .689 OPS in 111 games in 2025. The White Sox hoped that an offseason spent improving his bat speed and launch angle would help Quero add more power to his profile and give the team two strong catching options for 2026. An injury to Kyle Teel during the World Baseball Classic thrust Quero into the starting role to begin the season and gave him a wonderful opportunity to show his growth. Unfortunately, Quero’s expanded role has had the opposite effect. 

In 27 games so far this season, Quero is slashing .154/.253/.167 with a .420 OPS. He has just one extra-base hit in 78 at-bats. Quero ranks near the bottom in hard-hit percentage and bat speed, and has yet to record a barrel. On defense, he continues to be one of the worst catches in the league at blocking and framing, though he’s been solid at throwing out base-stealers. 

The White Sox improved play has given them little room for error with Edgar Quero

With low expectations to begin the season, the White Sox could afford to give Quero extra runway despite his struggles. However, in the month since their initial poor stretch, the White Sox have played much better baseball and have found themselves right in the thick of a wide-open AL Central race. The priority has shifted to winning, and the White Sox can no longer afford to give regular at bats to a player who simply hasn’t been able to cut it. 24 year-old catcher Drew Romo has joined the big league roster and played much better than Quero over the past few weeks. A former top-100 prospect himself, Romo has taken the step forward the White Sox hoped Quero would so far this year. He seems capable of handling the everyday catching duties until Teel returns.

Any move involving Quero’s demotion to Charlotte would be difficult at the moment. Kyle Teel has yet to begin a rehab stint as he recovers from his hamstring injury, and the White Sox have no other catchers on the 40-man roster. The team could theoretically add Korey Lee or Josh Breaux to the big league roster, but it would require opening a spot on the 40-man. The smoothest course of action would be to wait until Teel’s return to give Quero a break, but the longer it takes, the more the team is being negatively impacted by Quero’s poor play. At this point, the White Sox just can’t afford to maintain the status quo. 

At 23 years old, I think it’s far too early to give up on Quero’s career, but it’s obvious that he’s not in a great place mentally and needs a reset. Quero is a talented player who can compete at the big league level, but if the White Sox aren’t careful, they’ll hurt his development. As spring gets ready to turn to summer, the time has come for Chris Getz to make tough decisions and do what’s best for Edgar Quero and the White Sox, and that could involve an unfortunate demotion.

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