By Dominic DalDegan | March 29, 2023

Much of the White Sox’ storied history has involved Cuban ballplayers. From Minnie Minoso getting inducted into the Hall of Fame, to Alexei Ramirez fielding the last out of Mark Buehrle’s perfect game. Even the current White Sox roster has multiple Cubans on the team. This lineage will continue on Opening Day when Oscar Colas gears up against fellow countryman and White Sox legend Jose Abreu and the Houston Astros. 

After playing for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks for Japan’s Nippon League in 2019, Colas defected from Cuba. In order to become eligible for MLB free agency rather than the draft, he then had to declare residency in a third country. His goal was to play in the MLB, but Colas had aspirations to play for the White Sox to join the long line of Cuban players that have played for the franchise. In the meantime, the White Sox already had agreements in place with certain international players for the 2021 class by the time Colas was eligible to sign. When Colas learned the White Sox were interested, he waited until January 2022 when the White Sox had enough international bonus pool money to sign him. The pact was official on January 25th 2022, and Colas signed with the White Sox for $2.7 million.

Colas has the potential to be a huge difference maker for the White Sox. Colas brings skills to the table that the White Sox severely struggled in last season. To start, he brings left-handed power to the team. This spring, Colas has put up hefty numbers against righties, slugging .543 with 3 home runs. The 24-year old also exhibits solid plate discipline. When facing lefties, Colas does not sell out for power and shortens up his swing. This approach has garnered him only 9 strikeouts in 66 at-bats. To go along with his offense, Colas is an above average defender with a cannon of an arm. Last season, Colas soared through the White Sox farm system from High-A to AAA, slashing .314/.371/.524 across all levels. 

It is clear that Colas has talent in abundance. But Manager Pedro Grifol wants to make sure Colas gets the most out of his ability. Grifol has stressed fundamentals to Colas all throughout Spring Training, “Everything is important – To him backing up a base, to him throwing to the right base, to him not being flat footed on a fly ball.” Last year, Grifol noticed from the Kansas City dugout even the most talented players on the White Sox making mental blunders both defensively and on the base paths. Grifol understands that “doing the little things” and having situational awareness on the field is a deciding factor between winning and losing. After stressing this to Colas, Grifol acknowledged his improvements later in the Spring, “His secondary leads a week ago or five days ago are not even close to his secondary leads yesterday – He knows where the cutoff guys are going to be and what distance they’re going to have. Absolutely he’s getting better.”

Grifol felt that he could challenge Colas to get better due to his strong make-up. In a recent interview between Chuck Garfein and General Manager Rick Hahn, Hahn mentioned that Colas pulled new hitting coach Jose Castro aside after a preseason game and went over his at-bats to perform better against the types of pitches he struggles with. Colas has also gone on record talking about his burning desire to win. Considering this and how Colas waited a whole year just to sign with the White Sox, Colas strikes me as somebody who knows what he wants. He wants to leave a mark in this league. 

The ability Colas possesses as well as his desire to get better can make him a very exciting watch for a long time. His skill set and make-up is reminiscent of Jermaine Dye, with a difference being that Dye was right-handed. Dye was good for 30 homers a year, came up in the clutch, and played strong defense in right field. This is all achievable for Colas. If his career turns out anything like Dye’s, the White Sox will have a good player on their hands for the foreseeable future.