Chicago White Sox catcher Kyle Teel and then catching coach Drew Butera were discussing the World Baseball Classic near the end of last season.
“He was saying how he was coaching for Team Italy,” Teel recalled Friday during SoxFest Live at Ramova Theatre. “I was like, ‘Oh, I’m half-Italian.’”
That set in motion the opportunity for Teel to play for Team Italy in the upcoming WBC.
“I’m pumped,” said Teel, whose mother’s side is Italian. “I’m really looking forward to getting out there and meeting some of the guys on the team and competing and playing to win.”
Teel appeared in 78 games as a rookie in 2025 with the Sox, slashing .273/.375/.411 with 11 doubles, eight home runs and 35 RBIs. He’s looking at the WBC as another opportunity to keep growing.
“Having (Jorge) Posada on staff, Francisco Cervelli, there’s some guys that have been in the game for a long time and have caught for a long time,” Teel said. “Just being a sponge around those guys, learning as much as I can, it’s going to be huge.”
Here are three more takeaways from the weekend with the completion of SoxFest Live.
1. How is Davis Martin adapting to being the ‘older guy’?
The right-handed starter realized something shortly after the Sox traded center fielder Luis Robert Jr. to the New York Mets.
“I woke up to the news and I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, here we are. I’m an old guy now,’” Martin said Friday with a chuckle.
White Sox pitcher Davis Martin has a laugh with fans during SoxFest Live at the Ramova Theatre on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in Bridgeport. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Martin, 29, made his big-league debut in 2022. That gives him the honor as the longest-tenured Sox on the big-league club, taking over for Robert — who made it to the majors in 2020. Martin made his first outing in the majors with the Sox on May 17, 2022. Infielder Lenyn Sosa made his major-league debut with the team in June 2022.
“It’s cool to be the older guy in the room, even though I still have a lot of stuff to learn myself,” Martin said. “I was like, I think it’s me and Luis. (At first) I couldn’t remember when Sosa (arrived). I was like, ‘No, I’m before Sosa.’”
Martin said not seeing Robert in center field will be “a little bit different.” The two exchanged texts after the trade.
“I told him I’d give him one free fastball down the middle before I started throwing changeups and sliders to him,” Martin said. “He appreciated that.
“I’m excited for what he gets to do, but I’m also excited to see what (infielder/outfielder Luisangel) Acuña (who was acquired from the Mets as part of the Robert trade) can do and bringing him into the fold. It’s going to be a lot of fun.” Lenyn Sosa Luisangel Acuña.
2. What adjustments is Anthony Kay making?
White Sox pitcher Anthony Kay is introduced during SoxFest Live at the Ramova Theatre on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in Bridgeport. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
After two seasons in Japan, Kay is putting in the work to make the adjustments back to the major leagues.
“For me, it’s getting used to big-league baseballs again,” Kay told the Tribune on Friday. “Being in Japan the last two years, the ball is a little bit different, nothing too crazy. Figuring that out, getting used to a five-day rotation again. We were pitching once a week over there. Those are the two biggest things for me.”
The Sox and Kay officially came to terms on a two-year deal in December.
The left-hander went 15-15 with a 2.53 ERA and 249 strikeouts in 291 2/3 innings over 48 games for the Yokohama BayStars in the Nippon Professional Baseball Japanese Central League during the last two seasons.
Before that, he appeared in 44 career games (four starts) over five major-league seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays (2019-22), Chicago Cubs (2023) and Mets (2023).
“I’m going to try to do my best to help these guys out,” he said of his teammates on the pitching staff. “I’ve been around for a while now. Whatever they need, I try to do my best to help them out.”
3. What competition is most intriguing to GM Chris Getz?
White Sox general manager Chris Getz, left, and manager Will Venable have a laugh on stage during SoxFest Live at the Ramova Theatre on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in Bridgeport. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Getz highlighted building the bullpen as one of the competitions to watch this spring.
“Seranthony Domínguez coming is a stabilizing arm, allows us to balance the bullpen with (Jordan) Leasure and Grant Taylor and Mike Vasil and having some options to help finish games, that was important for us,” Getz said Thursday. “You look at the one-run losses (the Sox went 15-36 one-run games last year), those games we just weren’t able to get to the finish line.
“Now we’ve got more options and that’s going to allow us to finish more games than we have in the past. But there is still a fair amount of open competition in that bullpen.”
In regard to Domínguez, who officially agreed to a two-year deal Thursday, manager Will Venable said, “We intend to use him toward the back end of games.”
Domínguez has 40 saves over parts of seven major-league seasons — including three with at least 10 — and is eager to build on the number.
“If you ask any reliever if they want to close the game, of course they’re going to say, ‘Yes,’” Domínguez said during a videoconference call Friday. “And in my case, it’s no different. I want to just keep working on my weaknesses and keep focusing on the things I can do well, and try to help the team win the way I can.”