The vibes are high on the Southside of Chicago, as the White Sox just took two out of three from a good Chicago Cubs team. This is encouraging to see, as over the past few years, the White Sox have struggled mightily against the Cubs. Now, sitting at 24-22 and just one game back of 1st place in the AL Central, people are starting to pay attention to the White Sox.
This newfound attention is warranted, as the White Sox have been putting on a show on from the batters box. The White Sox are currently tied for second in the MLB in homeruns, and have had one of the better offenses in the league over the last month or so.
If that wasn’t impressive enough, they were about to receive a huge boost to the lineup. Catcher Kyle Teel was just finishing up his rehab assignment with the Charlotte Knights, getting ready to make his way to Chicago. This would have added another premium player to the lineup, giving the White Sox another dangerous hitter.
Unfortunately, things just took a turn for the worse, as Teel suffered another setback, this time being a completely different injury than the one that has sidelined him since early March. Now, according to Bob Nightengale and other sources, Teel has a sprained LCL that will sideline him for another 3-6 weeks.
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Kyle Teel will miss 3-6 weeks with a knee ligament strain( LCL) he originally hurt his hamstring ( grade 2 strain ) on March 8th in a WBC game playing for Team Italy.He has not yet played in 2026.
— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) May 19, 2026
This is very unfortunate for Teel and the White Sox, as one of the biggest weaknesses on the roster has been the catcher position. Drew Romo has provided some pop and some clutch hits, but his defense hasn’t been very good. Edgar Quero had a huge walk-off yesterday, but is hitting just .176 on the season and is one of the worst ABS challenging catchers in the league.
The White Sox would have gotten a huge boost from Teel, as he would immediately slot in as one of the best hitters in the lineup, and could have been a stable presence behind the plate. Now, the White Sox will have to wait at least another month to see him in Chicago.
Teel looked solid in his rehab assignment, as he hit .267 with a .353 OBP over four games with the Knights. He added one homer, two RBIs, and two walks. This comes after a scorching start to the WBC, where he was four for seven.
Kyle Teel just hit a home run in his 2nd at-bat.
He is back. pic.twitter.com/LSyVMIVwh8
— Mike (@ChiSoxFanMike) May 12, 2026
Teel has the ability to be one of the best all around catchers in the game and was very impressive in 78 games last year, as he was on pace for 4 WAR in his rookie season. That’s pretty good.
We will have to wait just a bit longer for Teel to heal up and join the team, but if the White Sox are still sitting firmly in the division race in a month, Teel could be the addition that gets them over the hump and into the playoffs for the first time in five years.
