Having missed the first 76 games of the season with back-to-back leg injuries, Kyle Teel was asked how often he could catch for the White Sox now that he’s back. His response should surprise no one.
“Seven days a week,” he said.
Teel strained his right hamstring in March while playing for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic. While on a rehab assignment, he then sprained the lateral collateral ligament in his right knee when a cleat caught on a swing — a freakish injury. Just a half-dozen games before the season’s midway point, he’s back, with plastic spikes now the footwear of choice.
Teel, who was in manager Will Venable’s lineup batting fourth Monday night against the Guardians, said he doesn’t anticipate it will take him long to get up to speed.
“No, I feel like I’m fresh,” he said. “A lot of these guys have been playing for a long time, and you know I’m not fatigued at all. I’m fresh. I’m ready to go.”
Teel’s return allows the Sox to upgrade a position that has become a black hole. To make room for him, they optioned Edgar Quero to Triple-A Charlotte. Quero was batting just .187 with three extra-base hits — a double and two home runs — in 150 at-bats. The other Sox catcher, Drew Romo, is batting .144, although he has hit five home runs in just 90 at-bats. Defensively, the tandem was performing below average.
Remarkably, the Sox had a winning record (39-37) in Teel’s absence. In his combined rehab assignments, Teel, a switch-hitter, posted a .387/.441/.613 slash line. That includes a five-hit game he had for Charlotte last Friday night.
“Obviously, he’s somebody that makes a huge impact in the middle of our lineup,” said Venable, who has no intention of playing Teel seven days a week. “[We’re] excited not just to have him in the lineup, but on the field. His energy when he is playing is awesome.”
The Cuban-born Quero is just 23, so Venable hopes he “really unlocks the best version of himself” in Charlotte. Asked if the Sox thought about sending him to their Arizona facility, like they did successfully with Colson Montgomery last season, Venable said the team thought he would be better served making his adjustments in a game environment in Charlotte.
All-Star update
With Phase 1 of All-Star voting due to end at 11 a.m. Thursday, it would take ballot-box stuffing of epic proportions for any Sox player to be elected later.
There is one exception: Munetaka Murakami, the injured slugger who ranks third at first base, 141,707 votes behind Ben Rice of the Yankees. The Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr., whose reputation with voters clearly outweighs the mere four home runs he has this season, has drawn more than 1.458 million votes. Rice is at 882,772, with Murakami at 741,065.
The top two players at each position (and six outfielders) advance to Phase 2, so there’s an outside chance a late local push or one by voters in his native Japan could land Murakami a spot on the ballot.
It likely would be a Pyrrhic victory, even if it happens. Murakami has only an outside chance of returning before the All-Star Game on July 14 in Philadelphia. Still, an All-Star selection would look good on his résumé and reflect well on general manager Chris Getz’s decision to sign him.
No other Sox player is within hailing distance of a berth. Miguel Vargas ranks third at third base, Montgomery fifth at shortstop and Chase Meidroth seventh at second. Outfielders Sam Antonacci (16th) and Tristan Peters (19th) also have votes.