You say these things and you’re excited. A whole month’s worth of content. “Good content!” you exclaim, all giddy with the anticipation for the words you’ll hammer out this month. It’s October and all the good teams are still playing, what else are you going to write about the White Sox?

And then you get your plan in place, which player is getting written up when, etc. You even make a spreadsheet outlining the whole thing! The more interesting players will get their own articles, and some of the guys who hardly played will be grouped together.

In theory, this sounds great. In practice, you get to days like today and you realize the error of your way. How the hell are you going to write an entire article about this motley crew of uninspiring part-timers?

The highlight of the season from this quizzical quartet came on May 3. Trayce Thompson had been reacquired about two weeks earlier after hopping from Los Angeles to Oakland, with a brief pit stop in New York. The Thompson acquisition wasn’t needle-moving, but it was cool because we knew and we liked him. He came up with the White Sox, battled through the minors, made it to the big club in 2015 and played well. He then played well with the Dodgers for a hot minute in 2016 after the White Sox shipped him West in a deal that netted them Todd Frazier. He was a homegrown thing with a famous brother who seemed pretty easy to root for, even if a few years riddled with injuries and some serious regression had taken the shine off considerably.

Before you started reading this or watched the above video, if I had asked you whose home run preceded Yolmer Sanchez’s infamous self-Gatorade bucket dump, would you have known it? Maybe you would have. After all, you’re probably a pretty big White Sox fan. But maybe it takes you a few beats longer than you expected. Either way, Thompson’s home run turned out to be one of just 14 hits he recorded with the White Sox in 2018. He hit .116/.163/.215 in 130 plate appearances, basically making Adam Engel look like Mike Trout. He was sent to Triple-A on June 20 and hit .213/.278/.363 the rest of the season.

What I’m trying to say is that it wasn’t great. But Thompson gave us the start of Yolmer Being Yolmer. For that, I’ll always be thankful.

It took Ryan LaMarre four years worth of cups of coffee in the majors to hit his first career home run. After tiny, little, itty-bitty samples in Cincinnati, Boston, and Oakland, and a somewhat longer opportunity in Minnesota, LaMarre clubbed his first career home run in Detroit — just down the road from where he grew up — in one of the cooler moments of a season that was mostly bereft of them.

He also had a four-hit day at Yankee Stadium, and put up a solid .303/.324/.485 line in 71 major league plate appearances while jumping back and forth between Chicago and Charlotte a good number of times. LaMarre will be 30 years old before the start of next season, which is older than you probably think, and will likely be squeezed out of the organization before long given the glut of outfield options sure to make their way up the ladder before long.

The best thing one can say about Ryan Cordell and Charlie Tilson is that they played — well, I mean, kind of. Cordell, who seemed to be toward the front of the line in terms of outfield promotions after a solid Spring Training, broke his clavicle about two weeks into the Triple-A season and missed three months. It was a frustrating turn for a player who’s struggled to stay healthy throughout his career. Things looked less promising upon his return as he struggled to regain whatever he had working in the spring while putting up uninspiring numbers at both Double-A and Triple-A, and promptly went 4-for-40 after a September call-up.

You know Tilson’s story by now. Unlike Cordell he was healthy all season long, which was a good and cool thing after missing more than a year with a myriad of ailments. He spent a little less than two months in the majors and at times looked the superior option to Adam Engel, at least at the plate, hitting .264 with a .331 OBP and 8 percent walk rate. He hit for no power whatsoever with just two extra-base hits in 121 plate appearances. Tilson is not the most interesting player in the overall scheme of things, but why hedidn’t get more playing time, nor even a September call-up, remains a mystery to me.

Finally, there’s Matt Skole. The White Sox signed him as a minor league free agent last winter and he appeared in four games in late May/early June during a Matt Davidson disabled list stint. He went 3-for-11 with a home run. Skole is 29-years-old and pretty much the epitome of minor-league depth at this point. Think of him as like the position player’s Rob Scahill or something. As a DH/1B type, he’s in the wrong organization what with the White Sox plethora of guys who can’t play anywhere else.

Look, I told you it’s difficult to find anything interesting to write about some of these guys, alright?

Lead Photo Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Dylan Covey was kept on the major league roster all of 2017, but mostly because he was a Rule 5 pick rather than any present major league success.  Now the White Sox can send him to the minors freely, and have done so.  Even including Covey’s 83 innings in Chicago last year, he still only has approximately 150 innings above High-A in his pro career and it isn’t crazy to think he would benefit from some learning down in Charlotte.  Ultimately, I believe he could have a successful career out of the bullpen without changing much, but if he wants to stick in the rotation he’ll need to make some improvements.

Covey will be joined by Thyago Vieira, the newly acquired flamethrower.  Back of the roster decisions can certainly be determined more by contract status than present ability, particularly in a rebuild, but it seemed possible Vieira might crack the Opening Day bullpen.  Barring injuries (or in Nate Jones’ case, injury-related setbacks), Jones, Joakim Soria, Luis Avilan, Juan Minaya, Gregory Infante, and Danny Farquhar were all pretty clearly ahead of Vieira.  Relievers Bruce Rondon, Jeanmar Gomez, and Xavier Cedeno are all in camp for auditions, as is Hector Santiago (a starter who could potentially be more of a swing-man out of the bullpen) and Vieira’s remaining options may have made it more attractive to stash him in Charlotte until they can sort through these other candidates for the suddenly crowded White Sox pitching staff.  All of the above combined with his lackluster 2017 makes Michael Ynoa’s assignment to minor league camp an even easier call.

Charlie Tilson was also sent to Triple-A.

Now, given that Tilson basically hasn’t played since August 2, 2016, it could be as simple as giving him time to knock some rust off without the pressure of trying to win a major league job.  Still, Tilson was certainly a candidate to get the first shot at the starting center fielder job, something the White Sox have wanted to see him try since they traded Zach Duke for him what seems like forever ago.  Barring some sort of really weird move like signing Carlos Gonzalez to play center field, which he can no longer do, it seems like Adam Engel is going to get one more crack at showing he can hit better than a pitcher before Tilson gets another shot at it.

 Photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Look nobody has ever accused me of burying a lede, but while the short and simple answer to the question is “no”, there are individual elements of these games that matter both from a roster-building and developmental standpoint.

The White Sox begin their Cactus League schedule today against the Dodgers. Dylan Covey will start, and Tyler Danish, Thyago Viera, and Brian Clark are all expected to toe the rubber. It’s exciting, because live baseball will be in front of our eyeballs for the first time in far too long, but while these games can often feel like a meaningless slog as we count down to opening day, there are aspects worth keeping an eye on, even if the wins and losses absolutely do not matter.

1. HEALTH. If this list were 20-deep, health could probably take up spots 1 through about 16 or so. In those terms, the player everyone will have their eyes on is Carlos Rodon, who is in the early stages of a throwing program but who general manager Rick Hahn said Wednesday might not return until closer to June 1.

“This is more about getting him healthy for the long term rather than an extra two or three starts in April or May of 2018,” Hahn said. “I’m guessing it’s going to be closer to June 1, but until he’s actually throwing in games, it’s still speculative.”

Aside from Rodon, the most relevant injury-related name to watch in camp is Charlie Tilson. “Charlie Tilson if he’s healthy” has been an option in center field for more than a year now, but as much of a long-shot as it seems at this point, having a healthy Tilson as an option in center field would be a big bonus at a position where the incumbent is Adam Engel and his .517 OPS. Tilson is far from a sure thing, even when healthy. But you don’t know what you have in him until you know, ya know?

2. What the players and coaches say after spring training games actually matters, at least it matters as much as things like that can matter. Watching, say, Michael Kopech on the mound or Eloy Jimenez at the plate is fun to watch, but the results of those spring game appearances aren’t nearly as important as them executing what the coaching staff is asking of them in each appearance.

Maybe on Monday Don Cooper will have Kopech focusing on glove-side fastballs away, or standing tall. Fastball command is a common refrain you hear from White Sox coaches when working with young pitchers, and what and how they approach that with, say, Viara, is key.

You often hear what, specifically, those pitchers are working on after the game, in a matter-of-fact-ness that isn’t always the case in games that matter.

3. We mentioned Charlie Tilson earlier, and the group of outfielders will be worth monitoring throughout the spring. Tilson (yeah if healthy) and Engel are presumably battling for the starting center fielder spot, presuming the White Sox envision Leury Garcia for the utility role. There’s also Daniel Palka and Willy Garcia to consider.

Last year, the presumed starting center fielder in camp was Peter Bourjos before Jacob May came out of nowhere to earn the job. A lot can happen to change plans in these meaningless games.

4. Results. Wait, what? But you said …

Yes, results don’t matter. But let’s face it, it will be a helluva lot more fun this spring if Kopech comes out and torches a major league-ish caliber lineup, or Jimenez goes on a world-crushing tear. Last year, Yoan Moncada went .317/.391/.683 in 46 spring game plate appearances, and some guy nobody had ever heard of named Nicky Delmonico posted a .941 OPS and team-high five home runs in 71 plate appearances.

For every fun thing like that you have a May or Cody Asche, so take everything with a grain of salt. But the long spring is a lot more bearable when your presumed future roster pieces are playing well.

Lead Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

As Collin discussed in the above article, May is being called up for his speed and his defense.  After all, whoever is in center for the 2017 White Sox is likely to be flanked by awful gloves in left and right, albeit while playing home games in a tiny outfield.

However, as the White Sox have demonstrated since George W. Bush left office, there are degrees of futility worth considering beyond “replacement level” as they have plumbed the depths beneath it.  And, in May’s case, PECOTA hates his bat, projecting a .223/.275/.336 line as a median outcome for 2017.

For context, Adeiny Hechavarria was the worst qualified full-time hitter last year, batting .236/.283/.311.  And, generally, the players putting up the worst offensive stats in a given year will tend to be very good defenders at difficult positions, usually during a bad year.  And while it’s true that if May is a great glove in center field, it would not make him anomalously bad, just another one of these defense only players — the Tigers and Cubs both carried players who fit this description for all of ’16 — May’s defense being great is still speculation.  May has the tools to be a good defender in center, but it is premature to describe him as plus there at present.  And until a player demonstrates a skill, there is no guarantee that it will arrive.

Even if things break well, and May is a good glove, PECOTA foresees his 90th percentile outcome at the dish as .279/.326/.411. Which means that the realistic best case scenario is that May replicates roughly what Austin Jackson was doing last year before he got hurt.  And granted, PECOTA isn’t perfect — prospects are much more than their stat lines, and they learn and change all the time.  May is a good athlete.  Maybe he blows away his 90th percentile projection. But that is still a statement predicated on hope rather than evidence, other than finding his hot streaks in the minors. And it’s not like he ever made any Top 100 lists or anything like that.

There’s also downside, too. Not every player hits their 50th percentile projection. There’s also a chance he gets shredded down below the Mendoza line.

All of this would matter more if the White Sox were trying to win in 2017.  And while Rick Hahn has repeatedly said that they are no longer going to rush prospects based on major league needs, I wouldn’t necessarily throw this in his face as a contradiction. Sure, May has not yet demonstrated he can excel against Triple-A pitching, but he is not valuable enough of a prospect to play service time games with, and if James Fegan’s interview with May is any indication, he is a smart enough player to handle the adversity of getting blown away in the majors.  At the very least he looks to be getting regular at bats in the majors, rather than sporadic playing time.

And maybe Tilson makes a recovery in two months and this is all just temporary anyway, and maybe May learns valuable things in the majors, and maybe the White Sox get a good read on what May can be, and maybe they learn for sure that he can be a good fourth outfielder someday.

Maybe. Maybe.

Lead Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Speed is the name of Tilson’s game. He only managed four home runs last season in 100 games in the absurdly hitter-friendly PCL. For him to be worth anything, he needs to be able to run like a young Scott Podsednik or else he will be lucky to look like an old Scott Podsednik. Tilson tearing his hamstring in his first game with the Sox last year was incredibly bad luck and it looks like he’s yet to fully recover from it.

When news of the stress reaction in his foot broke (apologies for the pun) earlier in spring training, I was reminded of a condition in race horses called catastrophic breakdown. The basic gist of it is that one of the numerous small bones in a horse’s leg breaks or is weakened, resulting in increased strain on the rest of the legs ultimately ending in broken legs that will never be able to heal. Think of Jake Peavy’s torn lat coming from his altered mechanics after spraining his ankle. Think of Brett Lawrie’s entire existence up to this point.

The team fully shutting Tilson down at this point is the best possible thing for Tilson’s health and career at this point, but it’s not painting the prettiest picture for the rest of his career. Stress reactions can rapidly become stress fractures, turning plus speed into mediocrity with alarming quickness. Tilson’s life as a baseball player isn’t quite in its third act just yet, but it’s closer to being there than it was a month ago.

Lead Photo Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Tilson came into camp the presumptive center fielder, and while his injury isn’t likely to have much of an impact on the win-loss projections for the White Sox, it’s frustrating for two specific reasons. Tilson, who went to nearby New Trier High School, was given an opportunity he might not have been afforded in another organization with more established outfielders or with an eye toward contention. We don’t know if this was the case, but one could envision a scenario where Tilson was so eager to prove himself and that he belonged in this role the White Sox saw him taking that he was rushing his recovery. When you’re so close to your dream, the short-term goal of trying to ensure it isn’t taken from you often outweighs the risks involved.

From a team perspective, sure, Tilson’s injury isn’t likely to have much of an impact on how many games the White Sox win in 2017. But Tilson, along with the likes of Omar Narvaez and Matt Davidson, offers an unknown element that is worth keeping an eye on throughout the season. The continued progression of Tim Anderson and Carlos Rodon is important, sure. As is the trade value of the number of veterans who may be on their way out. But the opportunity to see the unknown commodities get an extended look was always going to be one of the more important things to watch for this season.

If Tilson is out for an extended period of time — and at this point, until we hear otherwise that’s what I’m going to assume — one can reasonably assume the starting center fielder job will be handed to Peter Bourjos and his career 89 OPS+. Bourjos has a sterling defensive reputation and will need to live up to that while presumably sandwiched between Melky Cabrera and Avisail Garcia, but two weeks from his 30th birthday, offers absolutely zero in the form of promise or relevance to the next good White Sox team.

From a roster building perspective, if Tilson starts the season on the disabled list it does create another decision that will have to be made. The White Sox don’t have another super obvious center fielder candidate on the roster behind Bourjos — who would still need to be added to the 40-man roster — making someone like Leury Garcia, who does have center field experience, more likely to make the roster over someone like Yolmer Sanchez.

2. It’s difficult to overstate how damn cool it was to see Jose Quintana in the national spotlight after cruising through 5 2/3 no-hit innings in the World Baseball Classic Saturday.

The fact that Colombia ultimately lost the game to the United States befit something we’ve come to expect out of Quintana — completely dominate and end with a loss or no decision — and despite the fact that Quintana and Colombia were unable to advance past the first round, he clearly made an impression.

“This could be one of his best games in professional baseball, not only for his value, because he was representing his country, but what he did with his pitching,” said Colombia manager Luis Urueta.

“The only way to focus was to feel the country behind me clapping for me, and with a big dream such as tonight, that’s what gave me the desire to try to keep the game close,” said Quintana.

3. The White Sox had one of the more bizarre days of Spring Training one can think of on Sunday. In a day-night split-squad doubleheader, the White Sox scored eight runs or more in an inning in both of them. During the early game, a 10-8 loss to the Rangers, the Sox put up all eight of their runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. And in the night cap, they trailed 3-1 entering the ninth inning against the Dodgers and scored 14 runs in the top of the ninth, batting around twice, and ultimately won 15-5. Good lord.

4. The White Sox made their first cuts of Spring Training on Friday. None were particularly surprising, but the headliner was Zack Collins, who went 3-for-8 with a double, two walks, three strikeouts, and — surprisingly — two stolen bases in his limited action. Rick Renteria told reports he liked what he saw out of Collins in his brief time with the major league club.

“He got here, was real comfortable with the pitchers right out of the chute,” Renteria said. “He started receiving a little easier. … Good position behind the plate, was sticking a lot of pitches during the game he was playing in. He was standing in the box with a lot of comfort. He’s a very confident hitter. I thought he handled game-calling pretty well too.”

The other players reassigned were Courtney Hawkins, Spencer Adams, David Holmberg, and Brian Clark.

5. Michael Kopech made his second start of the spring in the aforementioned Sunday split against the Rangers. Three pitches into the start, he was trailing 1-0 after a single, stolen base, error on said stolen base, and RBI double. But he settled down, finishing that inning by striking out the side and wound up going 3 innings, giving up three hits, one run, and striking out four.

Lead Photo Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

With all of these caveats in mind, it is a good thing that Carson Fulmer pitched two successful innings against what is basically the Dodgers’ A lineup minus the injured Adrian Gonzalez.  It is a positive that Miguel Gonzalez is able to come out of the gates healthy, and that Zack Burdi pitched a 1-2-3 inning in his first appearance of the year.  But really, the biggest positive of all is that the days are getting longer again, and we are that much closer to real baseball.

Odds & Ends:

• The front office unequivocally named Charlie Tilson as first in line for the center field job.  Not long after, Tilson experienced a setback in his recovery from his massive hamstring injury, and although the timetable doesn’t impact his Opening Day readiness on its face, it casts doubt on how much playing time can be expected from him.  Now center field is as chaotic a spot on the roster as ever.  Peter Bourjos got the start in game one, but came off the bench in favor of Jacob May against Colorado.  If you’re looking for something to follow from day-to-day, this could be of some interest should Tilson’s recovery further stall.
• Brett Lawrie is still making sure he is 100% before returning to full duty.  Lawrie has an extensive injury history, and what sounded like a minor issue last year wound up cascading and wiping out the bulk of his season.  Unlike the outfield, however, unless and until some more trades happen, the infield picture is quite clear, as the White Sox actually have credible fallback options on the dirt in case of injury.  The biggest hope here is that Lawrie gets himself healthy and mashes out of the gates in order to boost his trade value.
• David Robertson has also already thrown an inning without issue.  Even more than Lawrie, the White Sox stand to benefit significantly if he can demonstrate to potential trade partners that he has recovered from his knee injury and is still the quality reliever he has been for years.
• After months of talking about the inevitability of a Jose Quintana trade, it was somehow jarring to tune in on Sunday and see Quintana take the mound in a White Sox uniform.  While the organization’s strategy is now clear, there are myriad ways that 2017 could play out.  Not a lot of scorched earth rebuilding teams have a pitcher of Quintana’s caliber to run out there every fifth day.  Given the rest of the roster, he may have a lot more hard luck losses and no decisions in his future until he gets dealt to a contender.

“We want to give the guys that are here the opportunity to show what they can do,” Hahn said. “If there’s injury or some other unforeseen issue, underperformance, along those lines, then sure, we’ll certainly look at potential ways to augment this roster. But as we sit here today and we’re trying to build for the future, I think giving young players the opportunity to show what they can do at the big league level will serve us better in the long run.”

One of those young players is Charlie Tilson, who will apparently get the first opportunity to stick as starting center fielder.

Tilson, a Wilmette native who was acquired from the Cardinals last summer in exchange for Zach Duke, is the type of player best served on a team like this year’s White Sox. While most of the attention during the build-up to Opening Day will be on the talented young prospects the team acquired in exchange for Chris Sale and Adam Eaton, as well as the veterans who could be shipped off at any moment, players like Tilson, Matt Davidson, and Omar Narvaez will get important opportunities that wouldn’t likely be available on teams expected to contend.

Those three and others are, to this point in their careers, considered fringe major leaguers. With the White Sox, they have a shot to prove they’re legit ones.

Tilson’s profile is that of a fourth outfielder, something Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen noted when the Sox acquired him. He’s both hit and gotten on base at a good clip across every level of the minors while with St. Louis, posting a .346 on-base percentage in more than 1,800 plate appearances across four levels.

From BP’s transaction analysis at the time:

Tilson’s best tool is his speed; if it’s not plus-plus, it’s darn close, and when he’s on base, he’s someone pitchers have to pay close attention to. That’s useless if he can’t get on base, but hey, he can do that. He has a line-drive swing with very little wasted movement, and keeps his hands in to shoot line drives to left and center field. There’s very little power here, but if you make a mistake middle-in, he can put it into the gap with the occasional homer or eight. There’s very little swing-and-miss here, and he will draw a decent amount of walks as well.

Tilson doesn’t walk an overwhelming amount but also doesn’t strike out much. He had 46 walks against 72 strikeouts in 594 plate appearances at Double-A in 2015 and 33 walks against 51 strikeouts in 395 Triple-A plate appearances last season prior to the trade.

But, as mentioned in the above write-up, he’s hit well up to this point in his career. The key for him to stick as a major league regular will be whether or not that is able to translate at the major league level. If it does (and that’s a very big if) he suddenly becomes a viable option, and that’s because of his speed.

Assuming the hamstring tear that ended his season last summer didn’t hamper his ability to run too much — something that is yet to be determined — Tilson can use his speed to his advantage. If his hit tool progresses enough that he gets on base at a decent clip, he’ll be a stolen base threat on a regular basis, and the defense will play well enough in center despite the below-average arm.

One of the most fun features to peruse on the BP player cards is the Comparable Players section. Tilson’s comps are littered with other fourth outfielder types — Ezequiel Carrera, Brandon Guyer, Gorkys Hernandez — but the No. 2 player on the list is 2008 Denard Span, another zero-power, plus-speed outfielder who, despite his flaws, wound up putting together eight straight above-average seasons as a regular.

It’s difficult to project Tilson’s bat allowing him become a long-time regular, but his speed and minor-league production has made him intriguing enough for the White Sox to give him a shot. Projects like him are a worthy cause for rebuilding teams, and if his speed can help make him a regular, he’ll help speed up their rebuilding process, too.

Lead Photo Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Big picture, the organization already has a fairly clear path forward on the infield, with Tim Anderson adjusting to the majors and Yoan Moncada not far behind.  Rick Hahn et al. insist Zack Collins can catch, which is unlikely but not impossible, but even if he can’t he will likely slide over to first base without much issue.  The pitching plan is even more obvious, particularly given the trade hauls for Chris Sale and Adam Eaton skewed heavily to the pitching side.

The outfield, however, remains a mystery. Charlie Tilson will get the bulk of the plate appearances in center this year, and rightfully so. If he was not permanently harmed by his hamstring injury, he should be able to handle it defensively and the organization needs to learn just how much he can do with a bat in the majors. But unless and until Tilson changes his forecast, he cannot be trusted to be anything more than a bench player long term.  Rymer Liriano and Avisail Garcia are going to get opportunities to do their lotto ticket type things in the corners, and Adam Engel and Jacob May are less promising options behind Tilson in turn.

But years of misses in the draft on players like Courtney Hawkins, Keenyn Walker, and Jared Mitchell have left the system thin, with Jameson Fisher and Alex Call being the next names of note after Luis Basabe.  Basabe is years away and full of risk. Fisher and Call are college performers who were available in the third and fourth round due to serious questions about their ultimate ceiling in the majors.

The White Sox should not prioritize any particular position in seeking trade returns. Generally speaking, and certainly at this stage, they should seek out the most talent possible and the prospects they think are best and sort it out later. If you want to know what it looks like when you disobey this principle, think about what the Royals got for Carlos Beltran so many years ago.

However, the organizational depth chart is screaming out for help here, and it’s something that can be addressed in a trade if the right situation presents itself.  The Mets, for example, have more outfielders than they can play, and it is starting to hinder the development of legitimate prospects like Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto.  There could be a fit here in terms of the needs of these two teams, and it’s something to keep an eye on moving forward.

Or perhaps this is simply a position they keep rolling the dice on until everything else is in place and finish the next contender off with a few free agents. As far as a team building strategy goes it’s not a bad one, as the outfield should be one of the easier problems to address.

Lead Photo Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

As you might imagine, a player coming off his age-29 season being available for a minor league deal probably isn’t rattling off one All-Star appearance after another. Bourjos broke in with the Angels in 2010 as an excellent defender in centerfield with the potential to maybe hit one day. The very next year, he hit an excellent .271/.327/.438 with a league-leading 11 triples, and all of a sudden people started wondering if he could be a plus bat while playing great defense at a premium position.

Sadly, his glove and bat would both deteriorate for a long enough period of time that…well, here he is. For a rebuilding team, however, he makes a lot of sense. Barring change, Charlie Tilson is clearly Plan A for center field, as it remains to be seen whether he can be a good fourth outfielder or a second division starter.  But, as we have learned, people get hurt, and specifically Tilson has gotten hurt in very recent memory.  It also provides another layer of insulation between such an injury and the need to call up Adam Engel or Jacob May, both of which could use at least another half season in the high minors and possibly more.

The priority for a rebuilding team is making sure they can evaluate and maximize the development of their pieces that will be significant going forward, and to hoard as much value as possible. Part of that is making sure that your pitching staff has a competent defense behind them so as not to sabotage their confidence.

Bourjos provides a backup plan at all three outfield spots such that if Lucas Giolito or Carson Fulmer gets a fly ball into the gap that should be caught, it probably will be. That’s a good thing and costs basically nothing.

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