It couldn’t have started any better for Chicago White Sox fans tuning in Tuesday night as Team Italy took on Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

Even for the White Sox fans rooting passionately for Team USA, it was a welcome sight to watch the odds-on favorite — America’s "dream team" — get ambushed early by a pair of White Sox players.

And young players at that.

In the top of the second inning, White Sox catcher Kyle Teel jumped on a first-pitch fastball from New York Mets right-hander Nolan McLean and launched an opposite-field home run in Houston to open the scoring. Teel’s blast gave Team Italy a 1–0 lead.

Two batters later, White Sox infield prospect Sam Antonacci turned around a fastball and crushed a 403-foot homer to right field. Just like that, Team Italy had stunned Team USA with a 3–0 lead.

Teel walked and scored his next time up, and later in the game Antonacci drove in another run with a fielder’s choice before showing off impressive instincts on the bases, scoring on a wild pitch.

By that point the score had ballooned to 8–0, leaving Team USA in shock.

As I said before, it was a welcome sight for White Sox fans — had it now been for what happened in the top of the sixth inning.

Facing New York Yankees left-hander Ryan Yarbrough, Teel ripped a double down the right field line for his second extra-base hit of the night. But as he rounded first and stepped on the bag, Teel suddenly grimaced and hobbled toward second base before diving in headfirst.

He immediately pounded the ground in frustration.

Moments later, he was removed from the game by trainers with what was later described as a hamstring injury.

We know it’s a hamstring issue. What we don’t know yet is the severity.

And when it comes to hamstrings, the range of possible outcomes is wide.

A mild strain could keep Teel out only a couple of weeks, meaning he might still be ready by Opening Day. A more serious strain could sideline him for months — potentially keeping him out of a White Sox uniform until June.

That kind of timeline would be a devastating blow to the 2026 White Sox before the season even gets underway.

Talk about sucking the life out of an offseason that, up to this point, has felt refreshing and hopeful for White Sox fans.

There was at least some reason for cautious optimism after the initial report. Bob Nightingale noted that Teel was dealing with hamstring discomfort, not a confirmed strain.

Fans quickly pointed to a few encouraging signs such as Teel walking off the field under his own power and later returning to the field to celebrate with his Team Italy teammates after the game.

All good signs, right? They're actually far less meaningful than you'd think.

White Sox fans have seen similar situations with Luis Robert Jr. in the past.

In April of 2024, Robert pulled up while rounding first base on a double in a play that looked very similar to Teel’s on Tuesday night. Like Teel, Robert walked off under his own power.

The  injury was eventually diagnosed as a hip flexor issue, not a hamstring, and it kept Robert on the IL from April 6 to June 4 — nearly two full months.

Then on September 4, 2024, Robert left a game against the Baltimore Orioles with right hamstring tightness. Once again, he walked off under his own power.

Two days later, he was back in the lineup against Boston and finished the regular season without an injured list stint.

In June of 2025, there wasn’t even a clear moment where Robert got hurt. He was simply removed from a game in the first inning and later diagnosed with hamstring tightness.

That injury landed him on the injured list for roughly two weeks — the mild end of the spectrum.

But later that same season, in late August, Robert slowed down while running to first base on an infield single attempt. It didn’t look particularly dramatic at the time, and he again walked off under his own power.

Still, the diagnosis came back as a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, and the injury ended his season.

Now, Kyle Teel is no Luis Robert Jr., but the point stands. Hamstring injuries can be unpredictable.

Just because something doesn’t look severe in the moment doesn’t mean it won’t lead to a longer absence. That’s the uneasy reality facing White Sox fans right now with Kyle Teel.

Yes, Chicago has Edgar Quero if Teel needs to miss time, and that depth is exactly why having two promising young catchers in the system matters. But the best version of the White Sox lineup in 2026 includes both Teel and Quero. That much is undeniable.

If Teel misses significant time, Chicago wouldn’t just be losing one of its most promising young bats — it would also be without one of the most vocal and energetic leaders on the field.

Opening Day in Milwaukee is now a little more than two weeks away. If the White Sox hope to have Teel ready by then, they’ll need this to land on the mild end of the hamstring injury spectrum.

Until the team provides an official update, though, White Sox fans may want to brace for impact.