When the Chicago White Sox first acquired catching prospect Kyle Teel from the Boston Red Sox as a headlining return of the Garrett Crochet trade, it sparked a very mixed reaction.
On one hand, Teel is a really promising prospect. He's one of the best young catchers in minor league baseball and looks like he'll be a good big league backstop for many years. There is obviously a ton of value in that.
On the other hand, the White Sox already had a "catcher of the future" in Edgar Quero. Quero was also a Top 100 prospect and a bit closer to being Major League ready than Teel. He made his MLB debut in April fo 2025.
Teel's defensive versatility
You don't need two starting catchers, which is what made Teel such a head-scratching prospect for GM Chris Getz to target and acquire in the first place.
Getz explained after the trade that he loved the defensive versatility that Teel had in his background. Teel is a better athlete than Quero, and the White Sox believed he could play a corner outfield position at the Major League level in a world where both him and Quero are in the everyday lineup.
“Catching is gold right now in this game, based on conversations we've had with other clubs,” said Getz after the Crochet trade (via Scott Merkin). “To bring Kyle Teel into the organization, who's played at Triple-A, a left-handed bat, he's an athlete, he’s played other positions. To know that we've got Edgar Quero and Korey Lee -- so from a catching standpoint, we feel really good about where we're at"...."And you've got Kyle Teel who's left-handed and has versatility in his background, too." (via MLB.com)
With the White Sox having a vision for developing Teel's defensive versatility while simultaneously insuring the success of the catcher position, the acquisition began to make a lot of sense.
Given Teel's early 2025 success in Triple-A, Sox fans should be feeling really excited about what Getz and the organization executed with the Crochet deal. There's just one problem...the White Sox are not letting Kyle Teel play any position other than catcher.
White Sox are limiting Teel in Triple-A
While Teel played all over the outfield during his college career at Virginia, he has not played a single inning at a position other than catcher as a professional baseball player.
In 2025, Teel has played in 24 games behind the plate and made 14 starts as the designated hitter. No first base. No outfield. No defensive versatility.
Teel is currently riding a 16-game hitting streak and 27-game on-base streak for the Charlotte Knights. He is hitting .333 since April 26th and has now raised his season OPS to .775.
It feels like a major disservice to Teel for the White Sox to keep him in the minor leagues only playing catcher while Edgar Quero is looking like an MLB starter behind the plate.
If the White Sox were truly maximizing Teel's value, they would be developing him as a corner outfielder or first baseman and exploring what his future could look like at different positions. Manager Will Venable prefers not to have a set DH because it allows him to be flexible with his lineups. If Teel isn't going to be called up as a regular designated hitter, are him and Quero going to split time at catcher?
I feel like Chicago is really dropping the ball here and failing Kyle Tell when it comes to his development. He deserves MLB playing time, but as things sit right now, I'm not sure what position they'll have him play.