The White Sox may finally be getting some help back at the right time.
Kyle Teel, out since July 21 with an ankle sprain, was seen running the bases before Chicago’s walk-off win over the Mets on Sunday night. That alone signaled real progress, and the team followed it up by lining him up for a rehab assignment Tuesday with Triple-A Charlotte, according to James Fagen of the Chicago Sun-Times.
How long Teel stays there isn’t clear, but the expectation is that he’ll get at least a couple of games in before the White Sox decide what comes next. And with the calendar creeping toward the end of the regular season, Chicago still has to balance urgency with caution.
Teel has barely had a chance to play this year. He appeared in only 19 games, first missing months because of a hamstring strain suffered during the World Baseball Classic with Team Italy. He finally got back for his Year 2 debut on June 22, only to last about four weeks before another injury sent him back to the IL.
That’s exactly why the White Sox can’t afford to be reckless here. They need his bat, especially after cycling through catcher options that haven’t given them much stability.
Drew Romo and Edgar Quero were both hitting below .200 for much of the season, and Quero was eventually sent to Triple-A before Chicago traded for Joey Bart at the deadline. Bart then landed on the IL himself, which pushed the White Sox to claim Jake Rogers off waivers.
Rogers has given them a dependable glove behind the plate, and his power has shown up too - he already has one walk-off homer with the club. Still, it’s tough to picture Chicago feeling great about heading into the playoffs with Rogers or Romo as the main answer in a must-win spot. Teel is the guy they want catching there.
Even with the upside, Teel’s 19 games didn’t produce much at the plate. He hit .190 and struck out 27 times.
But the White Sox have seen the better version before. In his rookie campaign, Teel hit .273 with eight homers and 35 RBIs in 78 career games, and he entered this season as one of the organization’s most talked-about young players after adding muscle to boost his power.
Davis Martin is also moving in the right direction. Bruce Levine of 104.3 The Score reported that the right-hander is nearing a rehab assignment of his own.
Martin threw 35 pitches this weekend and is expected to have one more side session before heading to Charlotte. He’s currently on the IL with a blister issue.
His season has been split in two. Martin opened with All-Star-level production, posting a 1.61 ERA across his first nine starts.
Since then, though, the numbers have swung hard the other way, with a 6.52 ERA over his last 15 outings. In his last start, he was ejected after losing control badly enough to throw two balls near the head of Reds slugger Sal Stewart.
There’s still a version of Martin that can miss bats and work deep into games. The White Sox are hoping the downtime helps him rediscover what was working early in the year. If not, Will Venable may have a serious decision to make about whether Martin belongs in the postseason rotation.
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Now comes a much bigger test. The White Sox have lined Urquidy up to start the series opener against the Rangers, and it will be his first MLB start since the 2023 ALCS. A strong showing would help settle one of the teams more interesting midseason questions, but this is also the kind of assignment that can quickly reveal whether a good first impression is something more lasting. [Read more 🡒]