It appears there’s been a setback in the recovery of White Sox center field hopeful Charlie Tilson, writes J.J. Stankevitz of CSN Chicago. Tilson was previously diagnosed with a stress reaction in his foot back in mid February, and per Stankevitz, he experienced renewed discomfort this weekend. Tilson was in a walking boot yesterday, Stankevitz notes, and will be reevaluated today. The 24-year-old Tilson, acquired last summer in exchange for lefty Zach Duke, tore his hamstring in his MLB debut last year and missed the remainder of the season. However, the fleet-footed former second-rounder (Cardinals, 2011) was expected to handle center field for the ChiSox out of the gate in 2017, if healthy. Manager Rick Renteria emphasized that the team isn’t ruling Tilson out, but he’s also yet to play in a Cactus League game. Stankevitz notes that non-roster invitee Peter Bourjos would likely open the season in center if Tilson can’t take the field.
Here’s more from the AL Central…
- Right-hander Trevor May was considered one of the front-runners to secure the final spot in the Twins’ rotation prior to this weekend’s unfortunate diagnosis of a torn ulnar collateral ligament, writes MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger. With May now likely to miss the entire 2017 season, Jose Berrios is the “slight favorite” for the Twins’ fifth spot, though left-hander Adalberto Mejia and righties Tyler Duffey, Ryan Vogelsong and Justin Haley (the team’s Rule 5 pick) all remain in the mix. Bollinger notes that Duffey could be used out of the bullpen, as he was in college, if he doesn’t make the club. Both Vogelsong and Haley are in the mix for a long relief spot as well, if they’re unable to crack the rotation.
- Tigers righty Mark Lowe tells George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press that catcher James McCann noticed a slight differentiation in his mechanics from 2015 to 2016 when examining video, and Lowe is hopeful that the subsequent alterations he’s made will help him to restore his lost velocity. Lowe went from averaging 95.5 mph on his heater in 2015 to just 92.4 mph last season in a year that culminated in a disastrous 7.11 ERA over the life of 49 1/3 innings. Though Lowe will earn $5.5MM in 2017, Sipple notes that he’s not a lock to make the Opening Day roster if he doesn’t perform this spring, so there’s plenty at stake for the veteran 33-year-old. Lowe did toss a shutout inning on Sunday, following the mechanical adjustments.
DLing Tilson should temporarily solve the crowded bench problem. Let the kid heal, then rehab assignment and go from there
Are the white sox fans that want 5 first born sons and 6 prospects for Quintana here too
I see the entitled Yankees fans who want a young, healthy top-10 starter on a club friendly contract for table scraps are here.
What top 10 starter are the Yanks after? I hadn’t heard they’d moved on from Quintana to someone else…
Maybe the Yanks should have kept him when they had the chance. Nice scouting jamokes.
Unfortunate for Charlie Tilson and the White Sox. The team is limited with the number and quality of CF candidates in their MLB camp. Non-roster invitee Peter Bourjos will likely win the opening day starting role if Tilson can’t recover in time. Bourjos was pretty much a lock to make the opening day roster anyway as lefty swinging Tilson’s right-handed hitting complement to begin the season.
The question would then become who might be the second option to play CF and pair with Bourjos on opening day if Tilson is placed on the disabled list to begin the season. Switch-hitting Jacob May has had the best spring offensively while right-handed hitting Adam Engel is considered the better defender. Both played at the AAA level last season and each possess elite speed.
Personally, I would love to see May get a shot IF they let him be the starter. If they want Bourjos to be the guy to start the year, I’d rather have May get every day at bats in the minors.
There is no question that Jacob May has had the best camp offensively among the White Sox CF prospects. Adam Engel is considered the slightly better talent, ranking at #16 on the White Sox official website while May occupies the #26 spot. Each prospect has a similarly rated low hit tool and have struggled making consistent contact throughout their minor league careers. Engel has had better success in drawing walks, possesses a little more power and has been more proficient in stealing bases. He also has the stronger arm to man the CF position.
I think Engel probably has the better shot of the two to stick around long term (if either do), but I’d rather have him get in a full year at AAA before getting the call. He started last year at A+ ball (14 games) and mashed before being moved up to AA (74 games) then eventually AAA (41 games). That’s a lot of movement in one year. I’d like to see him replicate his AA numbers from last year (.764 OPS) in AAA this year. Or if all goes VERY well, he could replicate his A+ numbers (.885 OPS). If he can go the majority of the year in AAA with a mid 700’s+ OPS with his ridiculous speed, I’d love to see what he could do at the major league level in 2018.
Either way, I don’t want either him or May playing a backup roll this year. They both need to be getting as many AB’s as possible.
I agree that both Jacob May and Adam Engel would be better served getting regular AB’s at AAA Charlotte to begin the season. Of course, that would be difficult since both are also CF’s. If neither becomes the backup or platoon partner with Peter Bourjos to open the White Sox regular season then Engel may need to start off at AA Birmingham. He got promoted to AAA in July last season when May went on the disabled list due to his oblique injury.
How does Tilson’s service time get calculated? He was on the Major League DL after his injury, so he has ~2 months’ service time from that. Does he have to go back on the major league DL to start this season if he’s still out (say for 2 or 3 more months) or can they assign him to AAA out of camp (to avoid him earning more service time)?
Either way I hope he gets back soon, it’s pretty important to get an idea of his ability as soon as possible; really would help to know how many OF prospects we need to trade for…
I believe he will continue to accrue time until he is healthy enough to be optioned down to play in the minors, not 100% on this though.
Charlie Tilson will likely begin the 2017 season on the MLB disabled list if he’s not sufficiently recovered by opening day. Depending on his status, the club would have the option of utilizing the new 10-day list that replaced the 15 day one in the latest CBA. Like the old list, it could be used retroactively. A player must spend at least 10 days on the list but can spend considerably more time on it, if necessary.
Players on any MLB 40-man roster continue to accumulate service time regardless of what disabled list they are placed on, be it the 7-day DL (solely for players experiencing concussion symptoms), the 10-day DL and the 60-day DL. Tilson still has option years available to him but the White Sox likely won’t utilize that route until after he recovers from his injury and goes through the allotted time to get into game shape at AAA Charlotte or extended spring training. If Tilson is deemed healthy but struggles with his production during his rehab assignment, the organization could then choose to option him to AAA.
The Sox will probably have the worst record in baseball for the next two years, so it doesn’t matter who plays CF.
As to worst record in MLB, they’re in stiff competition with the Padres.
The White Sox may give the Twins a battle to stay out of the A.L. Central cellar. Chicago’s pitching staff is still well ahead of Minnesota’s despite the Chris Sale trade. In the event the White Sox are able to trade veterans like Jose Quintana, Derek Holland, Miguel Gonzalez and David Robertson by the summer trade deadline, they would still arguably have a better staff with the possible promotions of Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Carson Fulmer and Zack Burdi to fill their spots.
I still think angel pagan makes sense.
Snag D. Norris at Catcher while you’re at it. 2 veterans that can help the young guys
Thinking about a Matt Wisler for Danny Santana trade. Braves looking for a backup to Inciarte that can hit Right and play center.
Bum hammy and easily broken foot? Shouldn’t Tilson be referred to as the “formerly fleet-footed former second rounder”?