The White Sox have entered the stretch run of their playoff push and need all the help they can get. While the offense is far from their biggest weakness, it helps to have everyone possible available. They’ll get a bit of relief as the rosters expand in September, but they want quality players in the lineup as they try to wrap up the AL Central.
Catcher has been the Sox’s biggest weakness by far this season, but the hope is that Kyle Teel will be able to rejoin them soon as he continues to recover from a high ankle sprain that has kept him out for more than a month. He has missed so much time this season that, between his injuries and Edgar Quero getting sent down, Drew Romo is now listed as the team’s primary catcher on Baseball Reference, which clearly was not the plan for this season.
Fortunately, Teel now is providing reason to believe that he will be able to contribute to the stretch run. In his latest rehab game with Triple-A Charlotte, he went 3-for-4 from the No. 3 spot and had a two-RBI double. It was his first multi-hit game during this part of his assignment and the first time he has driven in any runs.
If you don’t believe catcher has been a problem for the Sox this season, simply look at their slash numbers at that position – .172/.256/.274. All three of those are dead last in MLB at that position, as are the 79 hits they’ve accumulated.
Those who have paid attention to this team won’t be surprised. Not only have Teel’s injuries and Quero’s disappointing season factored in, but the other candidates in that position haven’t been great either. Romo is not a starter, Jake Rogers is a bandage, Joey Bart broke his hand a pitch during his second game, and does anyone even remember what Reese McGuire did during his brief time back with the Sox?
Teel was supposed to be the catcher to stabilize the position, and he still might be. We won’t know for some time whether he’s the long-term answer, but he needs to be the short-term answer right now. If his most recent rehab game is any indication, the Sox are on their way to being happy with anything he’s able to accomplish for the rest of the season.
Any hole in a lineup can be exploited during the playoffs. Let’s hope the Sox can plug that before then, specifically with a healthy, productive Teel.
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