Chicago White Sox Trade Peter Bourjos to Tampa Bay Rays

The Chicago White Sox have reportedly traded outfielder Peter Bourjos to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Chicago White Sox outfielder Peter Bourjos has had a strong Spring Training, making him the favorite to start in center field to start the season. The White Sox lost Charlie Tilson with a foot injury earlier in Spring Training. Tilson was supposed to be their starting center fielder but he will miss about a month in the regular season.

Instead of going with the veteran Bourjos to replace Tilson, the White Sox appear to be allowing a young guy to get a chance in center field. According to Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago, the Chicago White Sox have agreed to trade Bourjos to the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rays have been searching hard for bench help in recent days and Bourjos makes perfect sense for their team. He was inexpensive to acquire and he provides a decent bench glove for the team in the outfield.

Bourjos is not going to be a superstar for the Rays, but he is a solid overall player who can help the team contend. The Chicago White Sox are not going to be contenders this season no matter what. Bourjos is not a bad guy to have around, but giving him starts in center field would not have made any sense.

Bourjos has no long-term future with the White Sox. The more he would have played, the more Bourjos would have stunted the growth of a player who could help the White Sox down the line.

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Unless Tilson returns from injury, the White Sox will not likely look to Jacob May and Leury Garcia. Personally, I would like to see May get a full-time opportunity to prove himself until Tilson returns and that is much more likely after this Bourjos trade.

They did not get much in return, but the Chicago White Sox did a nice job of creating an opportunity for players who can make a long-term impact with this trade.