Guillen congratulates Wise on winning job in center

It took some time, but it looks like Dewayne Wise finally has caught his big break.

The White Sox on Monday reportedly placed Jerry Owens on waivers, clearing the way for the 31-year-old Wise to take over as their starting center fielder and hit out of the leadoff spot.

"(Manager) Ozzie (Guillen) came to me, told me congratulations," Wise told whitesox.com. "He told me he was going to put me in that leadoff spot, see what happens. He told me he was proud of the way I played this spring and best of luck to me.

"For the start of the season he said he was going to put me there. If I swung the bat well, I would probably stay there."

Wise continued swinging the bat well in Monday's Cactus League loss to the Los Angeles Angels, going 2-for-4 to raise his average to .316.

Owens, who entered camp as the favorite to win the starting job in center, is batting .230 in exhibition play.

The Sox showed pa- tience with Owens, but they had to make a decision with the regular season opening Monday.

"When you're at the top of the lineup in the order, you've got to have some fight," White Sox general manager Kenny Williams told reporters. "I'm not saying Jerry doesn't have it, but it's not up to where we want it to be, obviously.

"(Wise) just comes up and fights you every day. Maybe it's a byproduct of what he has had to go through in his career, but you don't have to question whether he's going to show up on a given day."

The left-handed Wise, a career journeyman who a year ago was close to signing with the Somerset (N.J.) Patriots in the independent Atlantic League, is a career .214 hitter (. 245 on-base percentage) in stints with the Blue Jays, Braves, Reds and White Sox.

Earlier in camp Guillen strongly hinted that backup center fielder Brian Anderson, a right-handed hitter, was likely to be used out of the leadoff spot against left-handed starters.

The White Sox made six official moves Monday, trimming their roster to 27.

Pitchers Lance Broadway, Jack Egbert and Jeff Marquez were optioned to Class AAA Charlotte.

Infielder/outfielder Josh Kroeger and relief pitcher Randy Williams were reassigned to minor-league camp, and second baseman Jayson Nix (strained right quadriceps) was placed on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to March 27).