White Sox have reportedly shut down Red Sox’ attempts to reacquire Kyle Teel

Boston Red Sox

Teel was the headliner prospect the Red Sox gave up in the Garrett Crochet trade.

By Conor Roche

December 13, 2025 | 1:00 PM

2 minutes to read

An interesting nugget emerged earlier this week when it was reported that the Red Sox were making an attempt to get back catcher Kyle Teel, who they traded to the White Sox for Garrett Crochet last December. But that attempt seems likely to fall short.

The White Sox have “shut down every inquiry” the Red Sox have made for Teel, The Athletic‘s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon reported.

“They have no desire to trade an athletic, left-handed-hitting catcher who can control the strike zone and run,” Rosenthal and Sammon added of the White Sox’ desire to keep Teel in Chicago.

Teel, who’ll turn 24 in February, was the headliner prospect in the Red Sox’ four-player package for Crochet, ranking as the 25th-best prospect in baseball at the time of the trade (per MLB Pipeline). He was also Boston’s fourth-ranked prospect when it traded him to Chicago, rising to Triple-A Worcester at the same time as Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, and Kristian Campbell. The Red Sox also gave up Braden Montgomery, Chase Meidroth, and Wikelman Gonzalez in the deal for Crochet.

Teel, who Boston selected in the first round of the 2023 draft, quickly made his way up to the majors, getting called up in June and hitting pretty well in his rookie season. He logged a .273 batting average with a .786 OPS, eight home runs, and 35 RBIs in 78 games. But he had some struggles behind the plate, with his minus-seven Outs Above Average ranking among the worst in baseball.

The Red Sox don’t have a pressing need for a catcher as Carlos Narvaez had a strong rookie season in Boston. But the Red Sox have been open to adding another catcher this offseason, and the White Sox were believed to be listening to trade offers for Teel and fellow young catcher Edgar Quero, MassLive’s Sean McAdam reported earlier in December.

Even if the Red Sox don’t need a catcher, Teel is still promising enough as a hitter that it would’ve made sense to at least consider a reunion if the White Sox made him available. Prior to getting traded, Teel hit .288 with .879 OPS, 13 home runs, and 78 RBIs in his lone full season in Boston’s minor league system.

Teel isn’t the only catcher the Red Sox have been linked to this offseason. They’ve also reportedly shown interest in Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto in free agency. The 34-year-old posted a .257 batting average with a .700 OPS and 12 homers in 134 games