CHICAGO -- Korey Lee has an interesting perspective regarding the current state of the White Sox.

He was behind the plate for 113 games during a 2024 campaign where the South Siders finished 41-121, setting a Modern Era record (since 1901) for most defeats in a season. But the 26-year-old also remains part of the core trying to make major steps forward in the second full year of this latest rebuild.

Lee will be part of a catching crew including fellow veteran Matt Thaiss and prospects Kyle Teel (No. 32 overall) and Edgar Quero (No. 66), who were two of the six White Sox players in MLB Pipeline¡¯s new 2025 Top 100, released Friday night. The competition behind the plate is exciting for the team¡¯s incumbent, even if it could potentially cut into his playing time.

¡°Absolutely. Absolutely. I see it as an opportunity to kind of grow more as a player, as a person,¡± Lee told MLB.com during SoxFest Live festivities at the Ramova Theatre, concluding Saturday night. ¡°It¡¯s good to play the game I love and go catch.

¡°It¡¯s exciting. It¡¯s my favorite position so I¡¯m glad we have all these guys in the same position. Just trying to build it stronger. I¡¯m all in on it. It¡¯s going to be great working with them. I¡¯ll learn from them. They will learn from me.¡±

The current situation reminds Lee of his time as a young catcher with the Astros and how he would learn from Mart¨ªn Maldonado during Spring Training, a process he worked through again in 2024 when Maldonado was with the White Sox. But Maldonado was in his 30s when guiding Lee, while Lee would be considered a young veteran.

Age doesn¡¯t matter to Lee as a leader. He already knows Quero and has spoken to him quite a bit over the offseason, while taking the time to get to know Teel this weekend in Chicago. He pointed to Drew Butera, the catching coach on manager Will Venable¡¯s staff, as an important part of the equation.

¡°There are so many things I love about catching,¡± said Teel during a recent interview. ¡°Throwing runners out is awesome. It completely swings the momentum of the game in your team¡¯s favor. Game calling is something I¡¯ve grown to love, using certain tools and looking at opposing hitters. Throwing runners out and receiving would be the top two, how can I present the ball to the umpire to make it a strike.¡±

¡°I¡¯m not going to be an older vet around these guys but I can share some stuff I¡¯ve learned from throughout the years with them. It¡¯s going to be fun. They are great kids,¡± Lee said. ¡°It¡¯s going to be a really really good, strong catching core. That¡¯s what I want.¡±

What Lee also wants is a stronger overall performance at the plate. He was hitting .309 after three hits on May 15 last season, but slashed .182/.207/.307 with eight homers and 27 RBIs over his final 309 plate appearance. Offense is secondary in the world of White Sox catching, with the pitching staff working well with Lee throughout 2024.

That success and failure helped Lee realize ¡°what type of player I could be in this league,¡± as he pointed out at SoxFest Live.

¡°Made the ceiling even higher and makes me want to be a better baseball player,¡± Lee said. ¡°This year there are going to be a lot of new faces. It¡¯s going to be a lot of introductions and meetings and stuff. But once we get all on the same page, it¡¯s going to be a great year.¡±

In the face of last year¡¯s failure, Lee was great for the media and great for the team as a solid pregame and postgame voice. It never grew overwhelming for Lee, who tried to free his mind from the day before and focus on the day at hand.

Now, he¡¯s focused on what he believes will be better results for the White Sox in 2025.

¡°We have a really really good group of coaches. We have a really really good group of players,¡± Lee said. ¡°We are all going to get on the same page and go play White Sox baseball.

¡°Every day last year I was going in and it was, ¡®Today is the day we are going to turn this thing,¡¯ and if it didn¡¯t happen, it was going to be the next day. We all had a strong mindset that way and if we continue to do that, we¡¯ll be in a good spot this year.¡±