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Before he was relieved of his duties Tuesday, White Sox general manager Rick Hahn did address a glaring need at catcher.
Actually, he addressed it twice.
With Yasmani Grandal gone at the end of the season, if not sooner, and Seby Zavala and Carlos Perez profiling as backup catchers at best, Hahn acquired Edgar Quero from the Angels in a trade for Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez and Korey Lee from the Astros for Kendall Graveman.
Quero is the top prize and he’s been tearing it up with the bat at Class AA Birmingham, hitting .333/.420/.500 with 3 home runs and 19 RBI in 18 games.
But Baseball America’s No. 78 overall prospect is only 20 years old and might not be ready to join the Sox until sometime during the 2025 season.
Lee, 25, was one of Houston’s better prospects, but he was blocked by Martin Maldonado and Yainer Diaz and that made him expendable.
After recovering from an oblique injury that sidelined him for most of July, Lee joined AAA Charlotte and hit .255/.309/.275 with 4 RBI in 14 games. Before Thursday night’s game against the Athletics at Guaranteed Rate Field, Lee was added to the White Sox’s roster. To clear a spot, Perez was optioned to Charlotte.
“I’m just grateful for this opportunity, I’m ready to get at it,” Lee said. “I’m here to contribute, I’m here to catch, I’m here to do my job and that’s control the pitching staff, doing my job on the basepaths and also hitting a little bit.”
Lee was in the starting lineup in the Sox’s 8-5 loss to Oakland.
Hitting ninth, the 6-foot-2, 210-pounder was 1-for-4 with a run scored. He also threw out 1 of 2 base stealers. Coming in with the worst record (36-91) in MLB, the A’s hit 5 home runs in the win. White Sox starter Jesse Scholtens gave up 3 homers, 2 to catcher Shea Langeliers.
“Frustrating,” Scholtens said after pitching 5⅔ innings and giving up 5 runs on 6 hits. “Obviously, 3 home runs, very frustrating. Probably too much in the zone. I just wasn’t good enough today.”
Unlike Quero, Lee is known for his defense.
“I think the catching’s the most important part,” Lee said. “My position, that’s where everyone’s looking at it. That’s where you’re controlling the game, you’re the captain back there. I think that’s something I can grow on and continue to do.”
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