It’s no secret that the Chicago White Sox are more focused on the future than the present, and so it’s no surprise that the battle for their center field job—one of spring’s major storylines—has ended with veteran Peter Bourjos moving on to a team that hopes to contend. The Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin had the scoop, and CSN’s Dan Hayes confirmed the deal had gone through and got the details:
Bourjos, 29, is a first-rate defender and heady baserunner, and hit an impressive .313/.340/.521 this spring. That was enough to raise his trade value, but not enough for the Sox to pick him over homegrown 25-year-old Jacob May, who made a nice diving catch against the Los Angeles Dodgers yesterday.
(Mobile users may want to tilt their phones sideways to see the video.)
For now it appears that May, who projects to hit .228/.268/.306 per Fangraphs, will be backed up by utility players Leury García and Tyler Saladino.