At the beginning of the off-season, many people thought that the White Sox would sign one catcher to mentor and split reps with Korey Lee, who could be a part of the White Sox for the next few years. But, at this point in the off-season the White Sox have aqcuired two veteran catchers, leaving many wondering what playing time is left for the young catcher Korey Lee.
First, the White Sox made a trade with Atlanta to get veteran catcher Max Stassi. Stassi did not play last year, but he has been known more as a defensive catcher. A move like this was expected, as the Sox needed to sign a veteran to work with Lee. But then, the White Sox added Martin Maldonado, another veteran who has started on World Series teams. These additions say a lot about how the White Sox feel about Korey Lee and his future for this organization.
While Maldonado and Stassi are by no means all stars, they provide the veteran presence behind the plate that Korey Lee can’t at this point in his career. Many Astros players raved about Maldonado and his game preparation and he has one of the better pop times in the MLB, but his framing has fallen off the last few years. Stassi is one of the better framers in the game, but he did not play in the 2022 season, so nobody knows how well he will perform this year.
At this point in the White Sox trajectory, the White Sox should have given Lee a chance to show what he can do next season. The team is not going to be competitive, so why not see what the former first round pick can do. The White Sox traded a year and a half of Kendall Graveman for Lee, so they should see if he can at least be the backup of the future.
This was the year that Lee should have gotten the opportunity, as Edgar Quero, the White Sox top catching prospect, is likely a year away. This would have been the time for Lee to show that last year was a fluke and he can be a solid MLB catcher.
The White Sox signing these two catchers may mean they’ve seen all they need to see, but it might not be the end of Lee. Since Stassi did not play last year, there is nothing given with him, so Lee can still beat him out in Spring Training.
Maldonado worked with Lee in Houston, so he may be able to continue to mentor him, but at this point it seems that Maldonado will be the Opening Day starter and get the first opportunity to be the everyday catcher.
Lee did not play well in his limited time last year so a move was expected at catcher, but we did not expect two. Hopefully this pushes him to be the best player he can be and he beats out the two veterans. Lee has the high draft pick pedigree and the prospect profile to still be a star, but this might be his last opportunity and he needs a big Spring Training.
Lee did not play well in his limited time last year so a move was expected at catcher, but we did not expect two. Hopefully this pushes him to be the best player he can be and he beats out the two veterans. Lee has the high draft pick pedigree and the prospect profile to still be a star, but this might be his last opportunity and he needs a big Spring Training.