Kyle Teel was one day away from rejoining the White Sox lineup, but his latest injury update now leaves Chicago waiting even longer for a badly needed boost behind the plate.
Over the weekend, it seemed like catcher Kyle Teel was closing in on a return from injury and rejoining the Chicago White Sox.
Teel went down in early March with a hamstring strain suffered during the 2026 World Baseball Classic and has missed the entire 2026 regular season up to this point. But last week, he began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte, and he claimed to be feeling 100%. He looked like it, too, hitting a home run in his first game action with the Knights.
It seemed realistic to expect Teel to rejoin the White Sox from his rehab assignment on Monday as the team traveled to Seattle for another West Coast road trip. As it turns out, Teel did join the White Sox in Seattle, but for all the wrong reasons.
Teel tweaked his knee on Saturday night when his cleat got stuck in the ground during a swing. He was just one day away from being back in the White Sox lineup. Instead, he found himself undergoing further evaluation.
The hope from every White Sox fan was that it would only be a minor setback. Maybe Teel would miss a few days and stay down in Charlotte for an extra week. But the reality of the situation ended up being pretty close to a worst-case scenario.
According to the White Sox, Teel has been diagnosed with a sprained right lateral collateral ligament (LCL), which will keep him out for an additional 3-6 weeks before he can return to play.
Teel has rejoined the team in Seattle to be around his teammates and impact the club in any way he can. But it may be another month before he plays in a game again, at which point he'll once again require a rehab stint.
The catching position has been a weak spot for the White Sox in 2026. Drew Romo has brought some much-needed pop to the lineup since being called up, but Edgar Quero has been working through an unexpected sophomore slump that has made the White Sox miss Kyle Teel now more than ever.
For Chicago's sake, they better hope Quero's walk-off home run against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday unlocked something in him moving forward, because it doesn't seem like the White Sox will be getting Teel back anytime soon.
At this point, it's foolish to bank on his return and expect him to stay healthy for the remainder of the season. If he does come back at some point, it should give the White Sox a solid July acquisition. White Sox fans just need to hope the team is still in the mix by the time we get there.
