The White Sox recalled catcher Korey Lee from Triple-A Charlotte Thursday and optioned catcher Carlos Pérez to Charlotte.
Lee, 25, was one of multiple prospects acquired by the Sox for veterans before the Aug. 1 trade deadline. He came from Houston on July 28 in exchange for right-handed reliever Kendall Graveman.
Lee is expected to be in the lineup when the Sox host the Athletics Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series.
Between Charlotte and the Astros’ Triple-A squad at Sugar Land, Lee is batting .278/.325/.386 with five home runs, 36 RBI, 39 runs scored and 13 stolen bases over 82 games. He appeared in 12 games with the Astros in 2022, going 4-for 25 with no homers in 12 games.
A first-round draft pick of the Astros in 2019, Lee was a teammate of Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn at Cal.
“It would be unbelievable,” Lee said on Aug. 2 about the prospect of a call-up this season. “It’s a lot of trust going into me. I’m going to play my game, do what I do really well. I’m going to connect with the pitching staff. I’m going to be a catcher. That’s the main priority at the big-league level, being a catcher, learning how to communicate, how to call a game. I’ve got to play my game and whatever happens, happens.”
Pérez, 26, was batting .241/.267/.345 in 18 games over three stints with the Sox in 2023.
Since the trade, Graveman has appeared in 11 games for the Astros, allowing four runs in 121⁄3 innings for a 2.92 ERA.