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Another bad break for center fielder Tilson

GLENDALE, Ariz. - When the White Sox traded Adam Eaton to the Washington Nationals in early December, they envisioned local product Charlie Tilson taking his leadoff spot in the lineup and starting in center field.

That is still the plan, but Tilson has to stay healthy if he hopes to help the Sox.

Acquired in a trade from the St. Louis Cardinals for veteran relief pitcher Zach Duke last July, Tilson made his White Sox debut two days later.

After singling in his first at-bat at Detroit, Tilson tore his left hamstring diving for a Miguel Cabrera sinking line drive. The New Trier High School product had season-ending surgery, but Tilson reported to spring training close to 100 percent and No. 1 on the Sox's depth chart in center field. There is still chance he's in the starting lineup for the April 3 season opener, but Tilson is dealing with a new injury.

On Friday, the 24-year-old prospect went down with a stress reaction in his right foot. Tilson will be re-evaluated in 10 days.

"It was one of those things, it started very minimal and I tried to work through it a little bit," Tilson said. "By the time I addressed (trainer) Herm (Schneider), thankfully I caught it before it was anything that would keep me out for too long. It's a minor thing, and it will give my other leg a chance to get stronger in the meantime. Hopefully, we'll turn this negative into a positive."

While he rehabbed his left leg and hamstring, Tilson likely was putting too much pressure on his right foot and leg.

"I think it's certainly something I'm aware of," Tilson said. "My right leg, early on in the process of recovering, was bearing a lot of weight. As much as I try to stay even and that's a lot of what the rehab is, unfortunately something like this came up. Fortunately we were very proactive about it, and we'll move forward from here."

Who's next?

With Charlie Tilson down for at least 10 days, the White Sox will take longer looks at Peter Bourjos, Adam Engel, Willy Garcia and Jacob May in center field.

"In terms of playing time in this spring, we have a few options and it allows us to keep an eye on them a little bit more and then see what the viable options are if there comes a need for it down the road," manager Rick Renteria said. "I don't know if I look at it differently, it just opens my eyes up to a few more options."

Rotating DH:

The White Sox have struggled to find a primary designated hitter for years, and this season looks like more of the same. Manager Rick Renteria said multiple players will fill in at DH, including Jose Abreu, Todd Frazier, Melky Cabrera and possibly Matt Davidson.

"We are going to use that slot to kind of alleviate being in that both sides of the ball situation when we have to, when it accommodates a particular need for us," Renteria said. "The thing is, these guys want to grind and play through a lot of things. But I have to be able to use my own common sense and my eyes and my conversations with our staff to see what it is we can alleviate these guys from actually being out there on both sides of the ball at times. So I'm not afraid to use that slot for any number of our guys to help them out a little bit."

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