Kyle Teel continues to take positive steps toward a return, which is welcome news for the Chicago White Sox, but it will also force the club into another difficult decision behind the plate.
Teel was seen running the bases at Rate Field over the weekend before being sent to Triple-A Charlotte to begin a rehab assignment Tuesday.
The 24-year-old catcher has already dealt with three separate leg injuries this season and has been on the IL since July 20, when an attempt to tag Texas Rangers shortstop Ezequiel Duran went awry. Teel’s metal cleat appeared to get caught in the dirt as he twisted to apply the tag, leaving him in pain and requiring assistance to walk off the field.
That injury comes after he was reinstated from the 60-day IL in June after missing the first 76 games of the season due to a right hamstring strain suffered in the World Baseball Classic. What was initially expected to be a multi-week absence stretched into a much longer recovery after Teel sprained the lateral collateral ligament in his knee during a rehab assignment.
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With Teel expected to return by early September, the White Sox will have roughly a week to decide between Drew Romo and veteran Jake Rogers, with one likely to be jettisoned from the MLB roster to make room for Teel.
On the surface, the decision appears relatively straightforward. Rogers is a six-year veteran with postseason experience and a proven track record of handling a major league pitching staff, an asset that could prove invaluable to a young White Sox catching corps that has shouldered most of the workload this season. For most of his career, he has also graded as a solid defender and recently hit a walk-off homer against the New York Mets.
But Romo has been quietly playing really good ball as of late. On Saturday alone, he went a perfect 3-for-3 on ABS challenges and caught Bo Bichette attempting to steal second base in the sixth inning.
ABS challenges have been a weakness for the White Sox all season, and while Romo only has a 42% success rate this season, he has been particularly effective as of late. In his last 15 challenges as a catcher, he has gotten 12 calls overturned.
Romo has also proven to be a respectable pitch framer, which is one of the reasons the White Sox have opted to keep him on the major league roster over Edgar Quero, who arguably has a much higher offensive ceiling. While Romo grades around the middle of the pack among MLB catchers, his framing has still been worth an estimated one run saved for the White Sox.
Although Rogers is generally viewed as the better defensive catcher, the metrics tell a slightly different story. Romo has actually graded as the better overall defender this season, albeit over a much larger sample size.
Offensively, however, neither catcher provides much production. Rogers is a career .197 hitter with a .602 OPS this season, while Romo is hitting just .144 with a .535 OPS. But Romo is beginning to show some signs of life at the plate, collecting five hits over his last seven games.
While Rogers brings considerably more veteran experience, he doesn’t have the same familiarity with the White Sox pitching staff, having joined the club as his fourth MLB team of the season. Rogers has even acknowledged that learning an entirely new group of pitchers has been his biggest adjustment since arriving on the South Side.
So while Rogers may be the favorite to remain on the roster, the decision is far from a straightforward one.
