ARLINGTON, Texas — Kyle Teel had to be helped off the field after suffering a left ankle injury in the White Sox’ series-opening victory Monday at Texas, likely sending the prized catcher back to the injured list less than a month after working his way back to the field.
The second-year backstop, who missed most of the first half with hamstring and knee injuries, was in visible pain after diving to his left and landing awkwardly on his ankle while trying to tag out Ezequiel Duran at home in the second inning of a 10-3 win.
Teel, who was on crutches in the Sox’ clubhouse after the game, was undergoing further evaluation and scheduled for an ankle scan in the morning, “but it’s likely an IL,” manager Will Venable said.
“It’s really tough,” said Venable, who has called Teel arguably his best all-around player. “As much passion as he has for the game, as hard as he works. You feel bad for any of these guys when they go down, but Kyle, having to deal with so many things here and so many setbacks, is really tough.”
Teel (.190/.271/.317, two homers, 14 RBI) had struggled at the plate since returning from the injured list June 22, but he provided a desperately needed defensive upgrade over Drew Romo, who replaced him Monday, and Edgar Quero, who has logged a .594 OPS the past month at Triple-A Charlotte. Quero was expected to join the Sox in Texas.
Depending on the severity of Teel’s injury, it likely adds the catcher position to general manager Chris Getz’s wish list before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
Seeing double
Sox batters smacked seven doubles off Rangers pitchers Monday, including two from Miguel Vargas (two RBI) and a three-run double from Andrew Benintendi.
Munetaka Murakami lasered his two-bagger 107.5 mph to right field in the first inning against Jacob deGrom, which marked the rookie’s fourth hit since returning from the IL before the All-Star break.
Venable said he wasn’t concerned about Murakami’s sluggish return, with 11 strikeouts in his first 27 plate appearances back with the Sox.
“The swing decisions are there,” Venable said. “There’s some balls that he probably has swung and missed at that he wants back, [ones] that we’re used to seeing those being hit really hard.”
Venable said he’s encouraged by a series of hard lineouts Murakami has hit the other way.
“Especially with left-handed hitters, when you see balls squared off the backside, to the opposite field, to me that’s a really good precursor to being able to drive the ball on the pull side,” Venable said. “Even when he’s not hitting homers, he’s making an impact.”
put up a 4️⃣-spot in the 5th! pic.twitter.com/QQDrrQq5Sq
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) July 21, 2026
Deep in the heart of Texas
Venable’s always happy to come back to Arlington, Texas, where the former outfielder played for the Rangers in 2015, and where he returned as Bruce Bochy’s associate manager en route to their 2023 World Series title.
“Special place that I’ve had really good memories of, going back to being a player, getting traded over here,” Venable said in the dugout at Globe Life Field. “The one time I was in the playoffs as a player I was with this team.”
Rangers president Chris Young “is one of my best friends in life and one of the people that’s had the most impact on me in my life, and certainly my baseball career,” Venable said.
“There is so much that I learned from that World Series run, from those players, from Bruce Bochy, from Chris Young and Nick Hundley, who’s in the front office as well,” Venable said. “And then you’ve got to figure a lot of stuff out on your own.”