The White Sox have designated outfielder Oscar Colas for assignment and claimed infielder/outfielder Greg Jones off waivers from the Rockies, per a team announcement. Chicago optioned Jones and righty Justin Anderson to Triple-A Charlotte. The Sox also reassigned infielders Bobby Dalbec, Tristan Gray and Chase Meidroth to minor league camp alongside righties James Karinchak and Steven Wilson.
Now 26 years old, Colas came to the White Sox with considerable fanfare. The Cuban-born slugger was touted as one of the more intriguing prospects on the 2020-21 and 2021-22 international amateur markets. He bizarrely (and frankly, unfairly) drew comparisons to Shohei Ohtani, of all players, for his plus raw power and because he’d dabbled in pitching during his time in Cuba and a brief foray into Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Outlandish as that comparison was, it did set some unrealistic expectations among fans who were dreaming on Colas as a potential superstar.
Even before the White Sox signed him, Colas had signaled that he no longer intended to pitch and that he’d focus his efforts on his work as a position player. He formally signed with Chicago in Jan. 2022 for a reported $2.7MM bonus. Colas went on to tear through minor league pitching that season, slashing .314/.371/.524 with 23 homers across three levels. Strong as those rate stats were, his production came with some red flags. Colas spent the bulk of the season playing against younger and less experienced competition, and he rarely walked. His strikeout rates also climbed rapidly as he moved from High-A to Double-A to Triple-A.
The Sox gave Colas his big league debut in 2023, and he quickly looked overmatched. In 75 games and 263 plate appearances, he hit just .216/.257/.314 with a tiny 4.6% walk rate and a bloated 27.6% strikeout rate. Of the 328 big league hitters with at least 250 plate appearances in 2023, Colas chased balls off the plate at the 13th-highest rate, per Statcast, despite also turning in a well below-average contact rate on such swings. Only 39 of those 328 hitters had a lower overall contact rate than Colas.
For all of Colas’ big league struggles in 2023, he at least turned in a .272/.345/.465 line in Triple-A Charlotte. That was league-average production by measure of wRC+ — a testament to the hitter-friendly nature of the Triple-A International and Pacific Coast Leagues. Colas showed solid discipline in the minors, walking at a 9.2% clip against a roughly average 22.3% strikeout rate.
The 2024 season brought considerable regression. Colas hit only .246/.332/.400 in Triple-A. His 11% walk rate was an improvement, and his 23.1% strikeout rate effectively matched the prior season, but Colas’ power deteriorated. He also became increasingly prone to hitting grounders and harmless infield flies; nearly one-quarter of his fly balls in Triple-A last year registered as infield flies. That’s more than double the 10.3% MLB average. Despite the Sox fielding a historically bad team, they scarcely gave Colas a look; he logged only 38 plate appearances and hit .273/.368/.273 while fanning 10 times (26.3%). Spring training hasn’t done Colas any favors. He received only 18 official plate appearances and went 4-for-16 with seven strikeouts.
The White Sox will now trade Colas or place him on waivers within the next five days. Outright waivers are a 48-hour process, which could drag his stay in DFA limbo out to a maximum of one week. Though he was a touted prospect not long ago, Colas’ struggles and limited skill set might allow Chicago to keep him. Today’s front offices typically aren’t enamored of power-focused corner bats with questionable on-base skills and sub-par defensive acumen.
In Jones, the Sox will pick up one of the sport’s fastest players. The 27-year-old has only six MLB plate appearances to his credit — he went 1-for-6 with a homer for Colorado last year — but drew 80 grades for his speed as a prospect. Jones went 46-for-49 in stolen bases at the Triple-A level last year despite being limited to just 89 games by injury. He hit .267/.344/.453 with the Rockies’ top affiliate (99 wRC+).
Jones is in the last of his three minor league option years. The former Rays first-rounder has split the bulk of his pro career between shortstop and center field. He’ll give the South Siders some depth at both spots and would presumably be an option in the outfield corners or at second base and third base as well. The Rockies gave him 64 games in center, 16 at shortstop, eight at second base and four in right field last year.
Colorado picked Jones up in a March 2024 trade sending left-handed pitching prospect Joe Rock to the Rays. The Rockies are left without anything to show for that swap now, whereas Rock has blossomed into a nearly MLB-ready rotation prospect for Tampa Bay. Rock profiles as more of a back-end starter or multi-inning reliever than a top-of-the-rotation talent, but the swap has clearly worked out in the Rays’ favor to this point.
Greg Jones gonna put the whole team on his back even with a broken leg
Mix Oscar Colas with Niko Goodrum. And keep Seth Beer on hand for a chaser.
Funny wordplay, but never chase mixed drinks with a beer. You’ll be puking in no time.
I thought it was beer before liquor never sicker.
Liquor before beer in the clear
That applies to drinking for the night. Drink liquor early and beer late. Chasing is a different story.
Eh…I’m a fan of the sidecar when having bloody mary’s.
I feel like Oscar Colas is Alexander Canario just doesn’t get a chance but if your getting dfa’d by the chi-Sox or Marlins your career is having a bad trajectory.
He had plenty of chances. He’s just not good at baseball. Really, not good.
No he’s a great double a level player. I have watched him from the right field bleachers at the Rate. He’s severely overmatched when going against major league pitching. He might succeed south of the border.
Well, he got much more of a chance than Canario ever did. And, since he is unlikely to be claimed, he will probably get more chances with the Sox.
I’d take Alexander Canario on a flyer in a heartbeat over Oscar Colas. Both are 6’0″ but Canario is nearly 20 lbs lighter at 212. He’s also a year and a half younger at 24 (25 in May).
Canario is the better athlete with superior AAA numbers. His brief MLB production with two Cubs stints is also much better than the two showings Colas has had with the White Sox.
Strikeouts are Canario’s biggest issue but Colas hasn’t exactly been Mr. Contact either.
Same. I want Canario over Jankowski
He looked the part in ’23. Just, numbers
Wasn’t colas supposed to be amazing?
Yes. He and Cespedes were supposed to the support to the core of Robert, Eloy, Anderson, Madrigal, Moncada, Vaughn, etc. Things haven’t work out as planned.
Hasn’t worked out as planned is an understatement lol. :3
Mike127-I remember that time. I had a lot of confidence that was going to a formidable line up, leading to a fun, competitive to watch. Things went down hill fast for a number of reasons.
Yes he was. And if had signed with the Yankees, people’s heads would be exploding right now.
True that.
He was pegged by some as the next “Ohtani”. Instead of becoming another MLB “unicorn”, Colas has transformed into a “gnome”.
Yeah…he was never really on that level. Dude only tossed like 3 professional innings in Japan. He’s more like the Cuban Matt Davidson lol
Matt Davidson had that bender though. Ask the Royals, he’s a baaaad man. Also recorded a funny Halloween themed promo for the jumbotron.
I’m impressed with what the white Sox have done this off-season. I see a great year this year. Playoffs maybe
You may want to schedule an eye exam
They are definitely not doing things the same ole way with emphasis on fundamentals and getting on base. This Venable guy and team seem to be up to something. In a very sleepy AL central, who knows? Something tells me one of the Rays, As or Sox will surprise.
Maybe time for him to try his hand at pitching again. Still time given he’s only 26 and at least has some professional experience pitching.
He’d make a nice buddy cop w Joey Gallo. Tango and Cash redux
Did I miss a story about why the Rockies put Jones on waivers? Presumably making room on the 40-man for somebody they brought into camp on a minor-league deal.
Rockies and White Sox don’t require waivers—they are free to move as the choose. Heck, for the foreseeable future neither should be held to a 40 man roster limit either.
It’s fairly common for teams to place someone on waivers without announcing it beforehand. The Rockies didn’t make an announcement on Jones.
Didn’t make a public announcement—I’m sure there is a mechanism within baseball that all waiver moves are broadcast to all major league teams and offices. What gets to us fans is just gravy.
No, they just didn’t announce it. Although it should have been expected when they felt the need to acquire Tyler Freeman, a utility player that plays both IF and OF instead of using Jones in the spot.
Personally, I’m more of an Oscar Rootbeer kind of guy…
Things went south when they let get of Burger and Fry. Hard to break up a solid combination
I was rooting for Bobby D to have a good spring and make the White Sox roster, unfortunately that didn’t happen. Bobby may forever end up being a AAAA player at best
“Red flags, excelled in 22 playing against much younger competition”. What was he, playing against a team of babies? No wonder his BABIP was so high, those OFs had limited range crawling around on all fours
Boy what an in depth and thorough analysis Steve Adams did. It’s like he got a PhD and wrote his dissertation on Colas-opony. Fancy writer
Sox are clearly playing the long game with Jones. Gonna deploy him like Billy Hamilton or UL Washington when they face the Dodgers in the World Series.
I would like to see a team put together of all super fast, speedy players. I think synergy would kick in with double steals, running threats with every baserunner, less grounding into double plays, etc.
I think it would mentally wear down opposing pitchers & catchers and would be a fun & exciting experiment to watch! Kind of like taking the ’59 GoGo Sox to a more extreme level.
1980 Royals come to mind.
I never once heard comparisons to Ohtani, lol. But ok Steve Adams
Instead of chasing one big-shot prospect who might turn into a bust, grab a handful of cheap, useful players like Jones. He won’t hit home runs, but he’ll do enough small stuff to win games—maybe more than Colas ever would—for way less money.