Oscar

Colas

We’ll never rule out the possibility that a change of scenery enables a player to unlock their potential. However, Colás has greatly underachieved relative to expectations, hitting .223/.271/.309 with five homers and four steals in 88 games for the White Sox since 2023. He’s purely a reclamation project for the Angels at this stage of his career.

Colas is a former top prospect who struggled in his limited chances with the White Sox, and he’s forged a slash of just .116/.224/.209 in Triple-A Charlotte this year. At the age of 26, it’s likely someone will give him a chance as organizational depth, but it seems unlikely that he’ll be anything more than that at this stage of his career.

Colas has gone from top prospect to a player that no one wanted on the waiver wire in the span of two years. Baseball is hard. Colas will need to be added to the 40-man roster even if he plays well enough in Charlotte to justify a roster spot.

Colas is removed from the 40-man roster to make room for Greg Jones after Jones was claimed off waivers. Colas was once considered the top prospect in the Chicago system, and at the age of 26, it wouldn’t be a surprise if someone showed interest in him as a reclamation project.

Colas was sidelined with a wrist injury early in March, but the 26-year-old was a question mark to make the White Sox well before that. The outfielder is a former top prospect who is much closer to organizational depth than fantasy contributor.

The 26-year-old suffered the injury while diving for a ball in the outfield during the sixth inning on Thursday. Fortunately, it sounds like he was able to avoid any significant injury and should return to action by the end of next week. With Andrew Benintendi (hand) shelved for the next month or so, the door is open for Colas to seize regular playing time in the White Sox outfield.

Ouch. Benintendi was plunked on the hand during Thursday’s contest against the Guardians. The 30-year-old outfielder said he was sore after the game, but precautionary X-rays revealed the unfortunate diagnosis. It’s unclear how the White Sox will plan to replace Benintendi in the middle of their lineup to begin the season. The injury certainly opens the door for Oscar Colas, Dominic Fletcher, Joey Gallo or Corey Julks to crack the Opening Day roster with a strong showing in Cactus League play.

Colás doesn’t at all seem to be a part of the White Sox’s plans now, but the team did opt to keep him on the 40-man over the winter after he hit .246/.332/.401 in Triple-A last year. The team had him play first base today, which is something he’s never done in the majors or minors. It’d take quite a spring to make him a candidate for the Opening Day roster.

Perhaps there’s still a chance Colás will earn a late opportunity with the White Sox. He hasn’t truly earned it in hitting .247/.337/.410 for Charlotte this season, but even so, he seems more interesting than Dominic Fletcher, who has been serving as the White Sox’s primary right fielder in spite of a .215/.261/.277 line.

It’s been a struggle this season for Colás to carve out consistent playing time at the highest level as he’s batted a serviceable .273/.368/.273 with four RBI in 38 plate appearances over 13 games for the White Sox. It’s possible he’ll get more of an extended look once the club moves on from some of their veteran outfielder at the trade deadline in a couple weeks.