Virginia Professional Athletes

Kyle Teel Is Making the Crochet Trade Look Even Better

When the Chicago White Sox shipped ace left-hander Garrett Crochet to Boston last offseason, the return package raised eyebrows across baseball. Now, deep in an ALDS run against the Cleveland Guardians, that package is doing the talking — and Virginia alum Kyle Teel is front and center.

Teel, the former Cavaliers catcher, arrived in Chicago as one of three ex-Red Sox prospects in the Crochet deal alongside Braden Montgomery and Chase Meidroth. All three have emerged as genuine playoff contributors for the White Sox, but Teel's role as the everyday catcher in October gives him perhaps the highest-leverage spot on the roster.

Through three ALDS games, Teel has been quietly steady. He went 1-for-4 with a run scored in Chicago's Game 1 win over Cleveland, then added an RBI hit in Game 2 as the Sox dropped a 9-3 decision to even the series. He drew a walk in Game 3 — a 9-5 loss — as the Guardians took a 2-1 series edge. The Sox are now in a position where they need to win to survive, and Teel will be calling the game from behind the plate.

Teel batted .235-.238 across those three outings — modest numbers, but in the context of a postseason lineup carrying the weight of a franchise rebuild, his contributions as both a hitter and receiver matter. He's batting second in the order behind leadoff Sam Antonacci, per the Game 3 lineup. That's meaningful trust from a White Sox coaching staff navigating a surprise playoff run.

The Boston angle adds some narrative seasoning: the Red Sox parted with Teel, Montgomery, and Meidroth to land Crochet, and now all three prospects are playing meaningful October baseball — just not in Boston. Red Sox fans have had to watch that reality unfold in real time.

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Elsewhere in the UVA Alumni Network

Teel isn't the only Wahoo with something on the line this week. Mike Vasil and Andy Weber, also White Sox, are along for the same postseason ride — Vasil as a bullpen arm and Weber as a depth infielder, giving Virginia a three-man presence in the ALDS.

On the other side of the standings, Ernie Clement is navigating some uncertainty in Toronto. The Blue Jays second baseman posted a .259 average with nine home runs and 48 RBIs across 158 regular-season games in 2026, but an OPS+ of 78 has the front office openly shopping alternatives. GM Ross Atkins confirmed before the month that Clement will have to compete for his roster spot heading into 2027, and multiple reports have surfaced linking the club to outside options at the position. Clement's defensive versatility has long been his calling card, but the bat needs to play up if he wants to hold his grip on the job.

And in a transaction footnote with UVA ties: Connelly Early, the Virginia left-hander, was dealt by the Red Sox to the Nationals at the trade deadline as part of the return for Curtis Mead. Early is now pitching in Washington — yet another ripple from Boston's busy summer of roster reconstruction.

The Cavaliers program keeps producing big-league contributors. Whether they're winning playoff series or fighting for roster spots, the UVA pipeline stays active.

Two Virginia Cavaliers alumni are staring down uncertain offseasons — one from a courtroom, the other from a roster bubble — as the 2026 MLB season winds to a close.

Gelof Takes the Tigers to Court

Zack Gelof isn't just moving on from his July knee injury. He's fighting back.

The Athletics outfielder has filed a lawsuit against the Detroit Tigers, Ilitch Holdings, and the Detroit-Wayne County Stadium Authority, alleging that exposed metal fencing at Comerica Park caused an avoidable injury when his right knee slammed into the structure during a game this summer. The Tigers acknowledged the case and declined to comment.

Cross-team lawsuits filed by active players are exceedingly rare in professional sports, making Gelof's legal action one of the more unusual stories of the 2026 season. He had been a bright spot for Oakland before going down — finishing with a .259 average and showing the kind of all-around production that had analysts projecting a leap to star status in 2027. That ceiling hasn't changed, but his path back will now run through a legal proceeding as much as a training room.

On the field, Gelof went 2-for-his-final-game against Houston on Sept. 27, driving in a run and scoring in a 2-13 loss, a quiet coda to what had been a promising year before the injury derailed it.

Clement's Second Half Puts His Future in Doubt

A few hundred miles northeast, Ernie Clement is watching his four-year run as a Toronto fan favorite potentially come to an end — not with a bang, but with a brutal second-half slide.

Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins sent an unmistakable signal last week, telling reporters he is not committing to Clement as the team's starting second baseman in 2027. Atkins framed it as an open competition, but the message landed clearly: Clement will need to earn it, not inherit it. Multiple outlets have identified him as a non-tender candidate this winter, and Toronto has already been linked to high-profile free agent alternatives, including four-time All-Star Luis Arraez, who could command a five-year, $100 million deal.

Clement, who logged 107 starts at second base in 2026 and finished with a .259 average, has been among the more beloved figures in the Rogers Centre clubhouse — known for walking to games and stopping to engage fans along the way. But box scores don't reflect personality, and a disappointing second half has given the front office reason to look elsewhere.

Whether Clement is non-tendered and hits free agency or battles for a roster spot in spring training, his status in Toronto is shakier than it's been since he arrived.

Also Watching

Virginia has no shortage of alumni across MLB rosters. Pitcher Connelly Early made his Nationals debut after being dealt from Boston for infielder Curtis Mead in a late July trade, giving the UVA pipeline yet another representative in the big leagues — though both players managed just two combined appearances after the deal. Bennett Sousa, meanwhile, drew headlines in Houston after he and teammate Christian Walker publicly criticized Astros fans for booing during a Wild Card loss to the White Sox — a postgame moment that's only complicated his standing with a fanbase already looking for answers.

Jake McCarthy Is Making Colorado Believers

The Rockies aren't exactly must-see TV in 2026, but Jake McCarthy is giving Virginia fans every reason to tune in. The former Cavalier outfielder went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored Saturday against Seattle, pushing his season average to .298 — a career-best mark that no longer looks like a fluke.

McCarthy's week was a clinic in consistency: two hits and two RBIs Tuesday against San Diego, two more hits Wednesday, another hit and a run scored Thursday. Over the course of this stretch, he's been one of three Colorado qualifiers posting an OPS above .800, a feat the Rockies haven't pulled off since their 2019 core. For a franchise still searching for reasons to be optimistic, McCarthy has become one of the more legitimate ones.

Sports Illustrated framed it plainly: this isn't a hot week, it's a breakout campaign. The numbers back that up.

Connelly Early's Debut Saga Takes More Twists

The most tortured storyline involving a Virginia alum this week didn't happen on the field — it happened in Washington's front office. Left-hander Connelly Early has been on the doorstep of his MLB debut with the Nationals, but the road there has been anything but smooth.

A planned start was canceled, forcing Washington to get creative to keep Early stretched out and ready. The Nationals responded with a rehab assignment to get him his necessary work, and president of baseball operations Paul Toboni subsequently confirmed that Early will make his big-league debut before the season ends. After stints in the Red Sox system and a long rehab journey, the former Hoo is finally within reach of the moment he's been working toward.

No date was locked in publicly, but the framing from the organization is clear: it's a matter of when, not if.

Around the Rest of the Alumni Roster

Ernie Clement had a mixed week in Toronto. The Blue Jays scratched him from the lineup ahead of their series opener against Detroit — a decision that carried some weight with the Jays still chasing playoff positioning — before bringing him back into the fold later in the series. He finished the week with a .265 average, contributing an RBI and a run scored Wednesday in a 5-1 Toronto win over Detroit.

Zack Gelof kept his bat alive for Oakland despite the A's long-since-concluded season. He homered Friday against Cleveland with three RBIs to go along with a multi-hit Saturday, closing the week at .249. His most explosive game came Sunday the 13th — two hits, a homer, two RBIs, and three runs scored against Seattle.

Pavin Smith returned to Arizona's active roster as the Diamondbacks scrambled to address struggles against right-handed pitching. He managed a homer and an RBI against Miami on Thursday but is hitting just .163 on the season — his roster spot more a reflection of Arizona's need than his production.

Kyle Teel had a quiet week behind the plate for the rebuilding White Sox, though he drove in two runs Monday against Cleveland in a 7-3 Chicago win. Mike Vasil, also on Chicago's roster, made news of a different kind: his teammates gathered to watch him throw for the first time since Tommy John surgery — a milestone moment for the young righty's road back.

For UVA fans, the week's headline belongs to McCarthy. But the one to watch next week is Early — his debut, when it comes, will be a long time coming.