ARLINGTON, Texas — The adage you can never have enough pitching will forever be the case.
The same should be said for catching, a position the White Sox threw money at when they signed Yasmani Grandal to a franchise record $73 million contract four years ago but still didn’t have enough.
Dumping cash on a switch-hitting receiver with plate discipline, power and very good framing ratings looked like an aggressive move signaling serious Sox intentions to win in 2020 and beyond.
But Grandal never started more than 76 games in a season due to injuries and his defense, not particularly good before he got to the Sox, was an issue. His framing ranking dipped to 39th this season per Baseball Savant and he’s 47th in defensive runs saved.
The Sox’ 16% caught stealing rate ranks tied for 21st in the majors, a figure for which pitchers are also responsible. Teams have attempted 90 steals against the Sox, second to the Guardians (93).
Seby Zavala, who turns 30 this month, ranks 10th in framing and 21st in defensive runs saved among catchers, but is batting .155/.207/.304 with seven homers in 66 games, compared to Grandal’s .250/.316/.380 line with eight homers in 88 games.
Grandal caught Touki Toussaint in a 5-3 loss to the AL West-leading Rangers Thursday that completed a three-game sweep. It was the Sox’ fourth straight loss 10th in the last 12 games. The Sox scored three runs in the first against trade deadline Max Scherzer’s Rangers debut, the first on Grandal’s bases-loaded walk before Gavin Sheets’ two run single. But Scherzer strung together five scoreless innings after that and the Rangers scored in four different innings.
Mitch Garver’s 457-foot homer in the fourth inning, tied it. Three batters later, former Sox Marcus Semien’s 17th homer of the season and second in two days put the Rangers in front to stay.
Perhaps it was the urging of first-year manager Pedro Grifol, a former minor league catcher and a major league catchers coach, that the Sox addressed the position with not one but two acquisitions in their flurry of trades that shipped out six pitchers and infielder Jake Burger before the trade deadline.
Edgar Quero, 20, came with left-hander Ky Bush from the Angels organization in the trade for Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez. Korey Lee, 25, came from the Astros’ system in the Kendall Graveman trade.
Quero is the higher ranked prospect. Lee has 12 games of major league experience and is catching at Triple-A Charlotte, prepping for a likely promotion to the Sox this season.
Lee is playing again after getting over an oblique injury.
“You’re the captain back there, you are the quarterback, that’s what I’ve always wanted to be,” Lee said.
Playing behind Martin Maldonado with the World Series champion Astros in 2022 showed Lee how a catcher handles a pitching staff on and off the field.
“He taught me a lot,” Lee said. “I will make it my way but he taught me how to be a professional catcher and over there in Houston they knew how to win. I want to bring that over to the White Sox.”
The Sox have done a poor job drafting and developing catchers. They selected a hit-first catcher, Zack Collins, with the 10th overall pick in 2016. Collins is a career .185 hitter with 11 homers in parts of four seasons with three teams, and when last seen in the majors, went 1-for-25 with the Pirates in 2022.
Before trading for Quero and Lee, they used a fourth-round pick on Ole Miss catcher Calvin Harris in this year’s draft.
“Getting guys at premium positions like Quero and Lee were of importance to us,” general manager Rick Hahn said.
