White Sox outfielder Charlie Tilson will miss the next 10 days because of a stress reaction in his right foot, according to reports.
Tilson is the leading candidate to be the team's starting center fielder, but his hold on that job is tenuous at best. A torn left hamstring on Aug. 2 ended Tilson's 2016 season prematurely, and probably the most important thing for him this spring is proving that he's 100 percent healthy.
Although this injury is being termed "minor," no injury is really minor for a young player who is trying to hold down a roster spot and establish himself at the big-league level.
“It started very minimal, and I tried to work through it a little bit,
and by the time I addressed [trainer] Herm [Schneider], thankfully I caught it before it was
anything that would keep me out for too long,” Tilson said. “It’s a
minor thing, and it will give my other leg a chance to get stronger in
the meantime, and hopefully we’ll turn this negative into a positive.”
Center field is not a position where the Sox are blessed with great depth. Well, they do have options, but none of them seem as though they are good options.
If Tilson continues to be plagued by injuries, veteran minor-league free agent Peter Bourjos likely becomes the front-runner to be the Opening Day center fielder. Bourjos is the kind of player who would only start on a bad, rebuilding team, which, of course, is what the Sox are expected to be.
Other internal options would include prospects Adam Engel and Jacob May, neither of whom has played in the major leagues.
Ideally, Tilson gets it together health-wise, and the Sox are able to take an extended look at what he can do this spring.
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