Korey Lee crashed at his former school roommate’s place the evening earlier than his Chicago White Sox debut.
That roommate: Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn.
“Talked to him, talked about the team, talked about what we want to do,” Lee stated earlier than Thursday’s recreation towards the Oakland Athletics at Guaranteed Rate Field. “It’s good to see a familiar face, and I’m excited to see what he does on this stage.”
The Sox promoted the catcher, who was acquired final month in a commerce with the Houston Astros, from Triple-A Charlotte on Thursday. They optioned catcher Carlos Pérez to Charlotte within the corresponding transfer.
“I’m here to contribute, I’m here to catch, I’m here to do my job and that’s control the pitching staff, doing my job on the base paths and also hitting a little bit,” Lee stated. “But I’m just grateful for this opportunity and thanks to the White Sox. I’m ready to get at it.”
Lee went 1-for-4 in Thursday’s 8-5 loss to the Oakland Athletics in entrance of 13,247 at Guaranteed Rate Field. He reached on an infield single within the fifth and scored. Lee additionally caught one of many two runners making an attempt to steal and had one throwing error.
“He came in prepared,” Sox starter Jesse Scholtens stated. “Our discussion earlier, (he) had an idea of how I liked to pitch, how we wanted to attack these guys. He did a great job behind the plate.”
Lee, 25, slashed .278/.325/.386 with 19 doubles, 5 residence runs, 36 RBIs, 39 runs and 13 stolen bases in 82 mixed video games this season with Triple-A Sugar Land within the Astros system and the Knights. He performed in 14 video games for Charlotte earlier than becoming a member of the Sox.
Sox supervisor Pedro Grifol described Lee as a “a catch-and-throw (guy). He’s athletic, he’s got a really good arm, smart, loves the position, which is extremely important.”
“We’re talking about a guy who’s coming up here as a catcher that’s going to have to call a game, receive, block, throw, hit,” Grifol stated earlier than Thursday’s recreation. “There’s so much occurring. We’ll have our ups and downs and we’re going to show and educate and develop.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what turns out, because he’s certainly athletic enough and has the tools to become who we think he’s going to become. We’re extremely happy that he’s a part of our organization.”
The Sox traded reliever Kendall Graveman to the Astros in alternate for Lee on July 28.
The Astros chosen Lee with the thirty second choose within the 2019 draft out of California, the place he and Vaughn have been teammates.
Lee has a profession .263/.329/.427 slash line with 44 residence runs and 185 RBIs in 338 video games throughout 5 minor-league seasons. He additionally appeared in 12 video games with the Astros in 2022, going 4-for-25 (.160) with 4 RBIs in 12 video games.
“It was fantastic,” Lee stated of his time within the Astros group. “It was a great opportunity for me to go over there and learn baseball at a young age. I’m going to bring the good things over here that I’ve learned over there and just continue to play my game.”
Lee has been preserving observe of the Sox for the reason that deal.
“There are some good things that are going on here and I’m excited to be a part of it,” he stated. “Down in Charlotte, they’re doing their thing also. So it’s a great org to be a part of and a tremendous opportunity.”
Lee believes Grifol’s experiences as a catcher will turn out to be useful.
“He said he’s going to hold me accountable,” Lee stated. “He’s going to be laborious on me. … I’m nonetheless a rookie, I’m nonetheless studying the sport and having a supervisor that’s additionally been in my place, that’s going to assist me out so much.
“Just daily conversations, picking his brain, picking my brain and just communicating together.”
Grifol stated these classes will come on and off the sphere.
“The catching position, for me, is really critical for what we want to do,” Grifol stated. “It’s a selfless place. It’s a subservient place. I made that clear to him. We’ve bought to get the very best out of 13 guys (on the pitching employees) each single day. So there’s an academic course of, there’s a finding out course of.
“It’s not just baseball, it’s not just game-planning. It’s developing instincts, it’s game management. There’s a lot to it. How much he plays? I’m looking for him to play a lot. But I’m also looking forward to the educational part of it, which at times would prevent him from playing that particular night, just to make sure that we continue teaching and teaching the way we want to do it.”
While Lee’s promotion is one other step for the group’s future, the catcher is concentrating on the current.
“You’ve just got to take one step at a time,” Lee stated. “This is what we have to focus on, this year. And when next year comes around, you’ve got a little bit of different focus. Right now it’s finish this year strong and have a good offseason.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com