http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-white ... ill-botherGLENDALE, Ariz. -- White Sox center fielder Charlie Tilson experienced discomfort in his right foot and had a walking boot on it Sunday, seemingly representing a setback for the 24-year-old's chances of being in April 3's Opening Day lineup. The White Sox will re-evaluate Tilson on Monday.
Tilson was shut down in February after an MRI revealed a stress reaction in his right foot. Initially, Tilson described his injury as a "minor thing" and the White Sox weren't expecting it to be a long-term problem. But Tilson has yet to play in a Cactus League game and doesn't have the calendar working in his favor.
The White Sox have 18 Cactus League games left, as well as two exhibition games against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park before opening the season April 3 against the Detroit Tigers. Manager Rick Renteria said last week he's targeting March 15 as a date to begin crystallizing who could be part of the Opening Day roster and getting those guys more at-bats and innings.
Renteria added last week he and the White Sox will wait until Tilson gets into games before determining whether or not he has enough at-bats to be the team's Opening Day center fielder.
"We definitely do not count him out," Renteria said. "It's more for us, making sure he's able to go out there and not put himself in a position where he hurts himself. And then, again, we have a little bit of time to kind of establish that, evaluate and see where we're going from there. We still have a little over three weeks. Hopefully we can get him out there at some point in time before we break camp, obviously, and then we'll make certain decisions at that point."
If Tilson isn't ready for Opening Day, non-roster invitee Peter Bourjos likely would be in line to start in center field. The 29-year-old former Los Angeles Angels, St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies outfielder has had a strong spring, hitting .364/.364/.591 in 10 Cactus League games.
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