Korey

Lee

Lee spent much of last season in Triple-A with the White Sox content to go with two rookie catchers in Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero, but he did come back up for the final five weeks, allowing the team to use one of its catchers at DH. That might again be the plan this season, as the White Sox have left themselves plenty of flexibility to keep Teel and Quero in the lineup at the same time. Plus, Lee is out of options, so the White Sox would risk losing him if they tried to send him down.

The White Sox wanted Lee up as insurance as they prepared to have Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero in the lineup together as the catcher and DH more frequently, and he’s not expected to start often. Still, he got the nod against a lefty tonight and collected his first homer in 35 major league plate appearances this season. He had 12 while hitting .210/.244/.347 in 394 plate appearances as the White Sox’s primary catcher last year.

The White Sox are going to roll with three catchers for now with Lee backing up rookies Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero. The 27-year-old backstop got into 14 games earlier this season for Chicago. He’s spent the last two months back in the minors after Teel was promoted to the big leagues.

Lee is sent down to make room for Kyle Teel on the active roster. The 26-year-old will be organizational depth for Chicago in the minors, but it’s not hard to see a team having interest in Lee as a backup backstop if the White Sox were to put him on the market.

Lee returns to fortify Chicago’s catching mix after missing nearly seven weeks recovering from a left ankle sprain that sent him to the shelf back in early April. The 26-year-old backstop will split playing time with top prospect Edgar Quero moving forward.

Top prospect Edgar Quero is thriving in his first taste of the majors, so there’s very little rush to get Lee back to the big leagues before he’s ready. The 26-year-old backstop hit the injured list back on April 10 with a left ankle sprain.

With Korey Lee (ankle) landing on the IL, it will be Narváez and not Edgar Quero coming up to Chicago. Quero is off to a great start in Triple-A, slashing .371/.500/.486 with one home run, eight runs scored, and two RBI in 10 games. However, they don’t seem ready to turn the page on Matt Thaiss as their everyday catcher, which means they’ll keep Quero playing every day at Triple-A. For now.

Lee has been serving as the backup to Matt Thaiss. He’s gone just 5-for-15 with three runs and one RBI on the season. The White Sox have called up Omar Narvaez to take his place on the active roster.

Lee seems like a near lock to require a trip to the injured list after suffering what appeared to be a painful left ankle injury while attempting to get back to the first-base bag during the sixth inning. Baseball America’s James Fegan reports that it’s veteran Omar Narváez, not top catching prospects Kyle Teel or Edgar Quero, being called up to replace him. It’ll be Matt Thaiss handling the bulk of the catching duties in his absence.

Lee has quietly done a nice job while batting near the bottom of Chicago’s lineup as the three-hit effort gives him a respectable .385 (5-for-13) batting average through eight games. He’ll need to continue producing if he’s going to hold off top prospects Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero into the summer months.