White Sox sign catcher Reese McGuire; leaving Korey Lee as odd man out
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The White Sox’ signing of Reese McGuire to a one-year, $1.2 million contract was a curious decision by the organization.
Kyle Teel is rehabbing from a Grade 2 hamstring strain but is expected back fairly early in the season, and Korey Lee and Edgar Quero are more than an adequate tandem. But the team is going to move on from Lee — Venable said Lee wouldn’t be on the major-league roster.
“When you look at Quero moving into that top spot and how to best complement [McGuire] with Quero really doing most of his damage at the plate from the right side," Venable said. "To be able to get a left-handed hitting catcher to support him and complement him we thought was a really important for us to get off to a good start."
Lee was scheduled to catch in Sunday’s game against the Mariners. He was traded from the Astros to the White Sox in the Kendall Graveman trade. Lee was the primary catcher in 2024 and batted .210/.244/.347. He only appeared in 25 games last season after the Sox acquired Teel from Boston and Quero established himself as a major-league catcher.
Lee's work behind the plate was never as advanced as his physical and hitting abilities. He ranked near the bottom in most advanced fielding metrics.
In 2022, Venable overlapped with McGuire in Boston when he served as the bench coach.
“He knows how to handle a pitching staff,” Venable said of McGuire. “He knows how to navigate opposing hitters. Does a nice job at the plate, has unlocked some power there recently.”
McGuire returns for his second stint on the South Side — he also played for the Cubs in 2025, hitting nine homers in 133 at-bats — after he was released by the Brewers on Sunday. The organization is big on framing for catchers, and McGuire fits the bill after finishing in the 80th percentile in that metric last season, according to Baseball Savant.
Walking into the facility, McGuire ran into familiar faces like second baseman Chase Meidroth — McGuire’s brother Shane played college baseball with Meidroth and former manager and current Sox advisor Tony La Russa. McGuire wasn’t particularly choosy about which team to join.
“Really any team is a good fit in my mind, right?” McGuire said.
It’ll be interesting to see how the team handles the catching situation once Teel returns. General manager Chris Getz said earlier in spring training that he didn’t want to carry three catchers, but the organization hasn’t thought that far ahead.
“We’ll cross that road when we get there,” Venable said. Right now, Kyle is not on the active roster, so we need to do everything we can to support this roster the best way, and that means adding Reese.”
Roster moves
The Sox optioned left-handed reliever Brandon Eisert to Triple-A Charlotte. Eisert posted a 4.39 ERA over 72 games. The team will likely carry three lefty relievers in Tyler Gilbert, Sean Newcomb and Chris Murphy.
The Sox re-signed Lucas Sims to a minor-league contract. He threw five scoreless innings this spring training. The Sox have 36 players remaining in camp.