A rough year for Kyle Teel's lower half looks to be taking another sour turn.
The White Sox catcher departed in the second inning of Monday's game in Arlington with a left ankle injury, after a play at the plate involving Rangers shortstop Ezequiel Duran scoring on an Evan Carter single. But rather than a collision, Teel had to be helped off the field after spinning on his planted left leg in an attempt to place a tag, and required assistance from Sox athletic trainer James Kruk to leave the field.
The club said that Teel is still undergoing further evaluation for his ankle injury, but the term "day-to-day" was notably absent from the team announcement. Drew Romo replaced Teel behind the plate. Edgar Quero is the only other catcher on the White Sox 40-man roster, and a source confirmed Francys Romero's report that he is the one being recalled. That points to a placement on the injury list for Teel.
Teel was on crutches postgame. The White Sox will know more tomorrow about the extent of the injury. Colson said the foul ball got his calf, no need for x-rays. Probably won't be in there Tuesday but seems ok.
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) July 21, 2026
It's already been a 2026 season marred by injury for Teel, ever since he suffered a Grade 2 right hamstring strain in March while competing for Italy in the World Baseball Classic. Recovering from the hamstring injury, which included a small setback in the ramp-up process, kept Teel out for the first six weeks of the season, before he suffered a sprained lateral collateral ligament in his right knee in the fourth game of his initial rehab assignment. Only over a month later, and after an additional rehab assignment for the new injury, did Teel return to the active roster and make his season debut on June 22. Now, he's facing another absence.
Teel had yet to get going offensively, hitting .190/.271/.317 with two homers and two doubles in 70 plate appearances since returning. But that still easily outstripped the .171/.249/.268 put together by Sox catchers before Teel arrived. Romo was 3-for-46 since June 1 coming into the Rangers series, and Quero has yet to see an upturn in Triple-A, as his .230/.299/.295 batting line is good for a 51 wRC+ in hitter-friendly Truist Field. That's to say nothing of the organization's belief in Teel's long-term potential to be an elite pitch-framer, because this was only his 16th start behind of the plate of the season, and there hasn't been enough time to evaluate his progress.
Beyond their immediate choice to return to a Quero-Romo timeshare, the White Sox have open 40-man roster spots if they want the sort of operational familiarity that Korey Lee can provide, or investigate what's gotten into Triple-A reserve Michael Turner's bat this year. Boston Smith is crushing in Birmingham, but he's a work in progress behind the plate, as he barely has a year of steady catching experience under his belt. (The Sox this evening also announced the signing of undrafted free agent Colin Barczi, a Vanderbilt catcher and Naperville native, but even his season was cut short by a labrum tear in his throwing shoulder on a slide.)
But the larger truth is that is that if Teel is sidelined for any significant stretch of time, the Sox have more pressing issues than picking the right immediate replacement. They'll need to start determining if any starter-quality contributors are available on the market, because their internal supply has become light.
While we're at it, Colson Montgomery left Monday's game after fouling a ball off his right leg. The Sox say he’s day-to-day with a shin contusion.
