NEW YORK -- The White Sox have a surplus of catchers in the organization -- including Kyle Teel, the No. 2 prospect in the organization according to MLB Pipeline. So they traded catcher Matt Thaiss to the Rays for outfielder Dru Baker on Tuesday afternoon prior to Chicago's 6-4 loss to New York at Citi Field.
TRADE DETAILS
White Sox get: Minor League OF Dru Baker
Rays get: C Matt Thaiss
With Thaiss gone, it means that Korey Lee is back on the Major League roster after spending more than a month on the injured list with a sprained left ankle. Lee and Edgar Quero will split time behind the plate.
As far as Baker goes, he will start his White Sox career with Triple-A Charlotte on Wednesday. He offers speed and is a plus defender while playing all three outfield spots, and he can play second base.
This season, Baker, 25, has slashed .245/.344/.302 with one home run and three RBIs in 17 games with Triple-A Durham. He spent more than a month on the injured list because of a left adductor strain.
“[The Rays] have been in the hunt to improve their catching for the last couple of weeks,” White Sox general manager Chris Getz said. “We are in a fortunate position here with the White Sox where we have some depth and Kyle Teel continues to do good things at Triple-A. Edgar Quero is up here now and doing a really solid job.
“To be able to create some depth in the outfield was something we found attractive enough to execute the deal. We wish [Thaiss] well. We know he is going to continue to have a solid season and are excited to bring Dru Baker in here."
With Lee back in the Major Leagues, the White Sox can focus all their time developing Teel. They were unable to do that with Lee on a rehab assignment with Charlotte. Lee had a slash line of .302/ .375/.465 with two home runs and eight RBIs in 11 games for Charlotte.
“It opens up development time for some of our catchers,” Getz said. “I didn’t love having Korey with Kyle from a development standpoint, so we are able to free that up a little bit. Now Kyle can be the primary focus at Triple-A, where Edgar and Korey can make a solid tandem with our Major League club.”
As for Thaiss, he had a slash line of .212/.382/.294 with a home run and eight RBIs in 35 games with the White Sox in 2025.