Catcher has been a position of strength for the offensively inept White Sox, but it could soon put them in a rare roster crunch.
Rookie Edgar Quero has had a solid start in his first 28 games, batting .264 with three doubles and 10 walks and nabbing seven would-be basestealers.
Veteran Matt Thaiss’ bat hasn’t been as strong, but he has drawn 20 walks and been a consistent presence behind the plate, helping guide the Sox’ impressive rotation and flashing a strong arm. He has picked off three baserunners, the most in a season by a Sox catcher since Dioner Navarro nabbed four in 2016.
That leaves the Sox with decisions to make at a suddenly crowded position as Korey Lee wraps up a rehab assignment at Triple-A. Lee started the season with the Sox, going 5-for-15 with two doubles, before landing on the injured list with a sprained ankle. He entered Wednesday hitting .357 at Charlotte.
The catchers have done well with Sox starters, who rank 13th in the majors with a 3.75 ERA, allowing the sixth-fewest earned runs.
Meanwhile, Kyle Teel — the No. 2-ranked prospect in the Sox’ organization and No. 28 overall, according to MLB Pipeline — is on a 17-game hitting streak at Charlotte and has reached base safely in 28 consecutive games. He has hit .271 overall with four home runs and 21 RBI.
Manager Will Venable said he expects Lee back on the active roster soon, but he has enjoyed having Quero and Thaiss to mix in the lineup against righties and lefties. He didn’t say if the team would carry three catchers.
“Right now, we’ve got two guys who are playing great here, and that’s kind of our focus — just trying to figure out on a daily basis what’s giving us our best chance to win,” Venable said.
Chasing greatness
Shortstop Chase Meidroth extended his hitting streak to nine games when he laced a leadoff double in the Sox’ 6-5 loss to the Mariners on Wednesday. He also ripped a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh before the Sox’ latest bullpen implosion.
Meidroth leads Sox regulars with a .301 batting average and is 8-for-8 in steals to start his career, putting him in the top three among American League rookies.
More recently, he has found a regular spot at the top of the batting order, with a .308 average in 20 games that puts him among the top four AL leadoff men.
“I’m just trying to win each pitch; it doesn’t matter where I hit the lineup,” Meidroth said.
Bryse to bullpen
Right-hander Bryse Wilson took his demotion from the rotation in stride, returning to the long-relief role he has filled for most of his career after a rough outing last week in Cincinnati and the Sox’ acquisition of starter Adrian Houser.
“I fell into trying to be a little too perfect in the rotation, not being super-aggressive with my pitches and trying to get guys out on soft contact,” Wilson said.
Ignominy watch
With the loss, the Sox (15-35) are at the same pace through 50 games as they were in last year’s historically awful season.
But the Rockies are well on their way to taking the all-time season-loss title from the Sox. Their record is an abysmal 8-41.