The White Sox announced that catcher Reese McGuire has been designated for assignment.  Taking McGuire’s spot on both the 26-man and 40-man rosters is catcher Drew Romo, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Charlotte.

After signing a minor league deal with the Brewers during the offseason, McGuire triggered an opt-out clause in the contract a few days before Opening Day when it became clear that he wasn’t making Milwaukee’s active roster.  McGuire then signed a one-year deal worth $1.2MM in guaranteed money to join Chicago’s roster, as the Sox needed some veteran help to complement Edgar Quero while Kyle Teel was on the injured list.  (Korey Lee was also designated for assignment and then outrighted off Chicago’s 40-man roster, as the White Sox seemingly preferred McGuire over Lee.)

The results haven’t been pretty for either Quero or McGuire, as the duo have combined for -0.6 bWAR (the lowest bWAR of any team’s catching mix in baseball) in the first month of play.  Quero is hitting only .153/.271/.169 over 72 PA, while McGuire has slashed a near-identical .172/.273/.172 over 34 PA.  Quero’s struggles are a bigger-picture concern for the White Sox since the young backstop is viewed as a potential building block, yet McGuire is naturally the far more expendable of the two.

More to come…