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Pedro Grifol explains White Sox plans for right field

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Pedro Grifol said prospect Oscar Colas will have "every opportunity" to become the White Sox' everyday right fielder, according to an interview he did on Inside the Clubhouse on 670 The Score.

The White Sox are losing one of their right fielders-by committee, since moving Andrew Vaughn to first base to replace Jose Abreu, leaving Colas with the go-ahead to fill the position. 

“Well certainly, Oscar Colas is going to be given every opportunity to see if he can become our right fielder on a daily basis,” Grifol said.

Colas is the second-best-ranked prospect in the White Sox farm system. He's played in the Cuban and Japanese leagues since 2016-17, when he was 17 years old. 

Last season, with the White Sox affiliate teams, he played 59 games with Winston-Salem in High-A, 51 games with Birmingham and seven games in Triple-A with the Charlotte Knights. 

In the seven games he played in Triple-A, Colas slashed .387/.424/.645 from the plate. Across all three divisions, he slashed .314/.371/.524 from the batter's box. 

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Luis Robert will continue in center field and newly signed Andrew Benintendi will hold the post in left field.

Yet, if it's not Colas in right field, then who?

Grifol mentioned Gavin Sheets – who played the most games in right field last season –  Leury Garcia and Jake Marisnick as other options for the job, saying, "There’s going to be some competition there in right field, and Oscar is going to be right in the middle of it."

Another idea, despite pushback on his defensive abilities, is continuing to play Eloy Jiménez in the outfield. The ideal situation would place Jiménez in a permanent designated hitter spot. 

Yet, Grifol wants to see Jiménez in right field. 

"I’m really looking forward to seeing Eloy in right field,” Grifol said. “I’m not talking about seeing him there every day, but I’m talking about maybe seeing him there a day or two a week if possible and keeping him athletic and keeping him working on the defensive side, because I know that helps on the offensive side as well.”

Hypotheticals to the side, Colas has the green light to become the team's everyday right fielder.

Will he take advantage of the opportunity?

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