The White Sox have gotten little production from Reese McGuire, while Drew Romo is thriving in Triple-A, making a strong case for a call-up as a younger catcher with more upside.
There was a point during the offseason when the Chicago White Sox had four catchers on their 40-man roster, and that was before they signed Reese McGuire just before Opening Day.
Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero were, of course, slated to be the top two catchers for the White Sox in 2026 after debuting last season and showing plenty of promise. But there was still some question as to whether the White Sox would carry three catchers on the 26-man roster.
Having someone like Korey Lee on the team would allow the White Sox to keep both Teel and Quero in the everyday lineup, with one of them serving as the designated hitter. It also wouldn’t require sacrificing the DH spot, since they’d still have another catcher available off the bench. The White Sox leaned on this three-catcher strategy quite a bit in 2025.
If another catcher was going to make the roster, though, Drew Romo was also worth consideration.
The White Sox claimed Romo off waivers from the New York Mets on January 8 and kept him on the 40-man roster until designating him for assignment on February 1. He cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Charlotte, where he’s been impressive so far.
Romo was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in 2020 with the 35th overall pick. By the start of 2022, he was the No. 2 prospect in the Rockies organization, and by 2023, he had climbed into the top 100 prospects in baseball, ranking No. 84 according to MLB Pipeline.
In 2024, Romo appeared in 85 Triple-A games, collecting 19 doubles, four triples, and 14 home runs with an .837 OPS, all while providing excellent defense behind the plate. That performance earned him a promotion and his MLB debut with the Rockies.
Since then, he has appeared in just 19 MLB games across 2024 and 2025, and to be fair, he has struggled at that level, hitting .167 in 56 plate appearances.
But this season, Romo is showing the White Sox that he still has real upside and is deserving of another opportunity in the big leagues.
This is still a 24-year-old switch-hitting catcher with first-round pedigree and elite defense. Now add in the fact that he’s hitting .300 with four home runs, 10 RBIs, and a .952 OPS through 14 games, and it becomes hard to ignore how intriguing he would be as a call-up.
Meanwhile, Edgar Quero has been struggling mightily, and it’s fair to question what Reese McGuire is currently providing that Romo couldn’t. McGuire is hitting .208 with a .478 OPS in nine games.
There is help coming for the White Sox. Kyle Teel is expected to begin a rehab assignment soon and return from the hamstring injury that has kept him out all season. But until then—and maybe even after Teel returns—it might be worth giving Drew Romo a look to see what he can bring at the major league level.
At worst, Romo is a younger, switch-hitting, more athletic version of Reese McGuire. And that alone might be enough to justify giving him a roster spot.