As you may have heard by now, AJ Pollock has opted out of his contract to become a free agent ahead of the 2023 season. This leaves the White Sox with $8 million freed up and some holes in the corner outfield positions to fill, with one potential replacement coming from within the organization.
According to GM Rick Hahn, who met with the media for about an hour on Tuesday, the White Sox are not ruling out the possibility of minor leaguer Oscar Colas serving as the team’s right fielder next season.
“We think a lot of Oscar Colas,” Hahn said courtesy of Daryl Van Schouwen. “Don’t lose sight of that. Doesn’t mean there won’t be external outfield additions but I don’t want him to get lost in your offseason analyses of where we are.”
Colas, MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 White Sox prospect, had quite an incredible 2022 season. After being officially signed this past offseason as an international free agent, Colas appeared across three different levels of the organization. He played primarily in High-A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham, where he hit .309/.367/.516 with 21 home runs and 75 runs batted in.
Incredibly, Colas performed better in Double-A, which is notoriously known for being one of the more difficult places to hit. The Cuban owned a .927 OPS in 51 games in Birmingham, compared to a .844 OPS in 59 games in Winston-Salem, to the point where some wondered if he could make a September appearance on the South Side.
Colas was eventually promoted to Triple-A Charlotte in late September, where he had nothing more than a quick cup of coffee. In just seven games, the 24-year-old still turned heads with a slash of .387/.424/.645 (12-for-31) that included two homers, four RBI, and five runs scored.
Colas was additionally impressive because of his platoon splits. As a left-handed hitter, he owned a .951 OPS this season against left-handed pitchers. He hit only a slighly lower .879 OPS against right-handed pitchers, showcasing his abilities against all hurlers. He was also able to play both center field and right field defensively over the course of the year, thus making him someone who’s long been viewed as a possible option at the major league level, even before the Pollock news broke.
There’s no question the White Sox need to add left-handed bats to their lineup before they take the field in 2023. With Eloy Jimenez likely seeing a large amount of at-bats at DH and Andrew Vaughn at first base, the outfield makes for a prime area to capitalize upon. By all indications, Colas seems to check off one of those boxes and should be an intriguing storyline to watch. As for others, it’s hard not to turn to someone like longtime Mets outfielder Michael Conforto in free agency.
Though there are more questions than answers for the White Sox right now, we will continue to monitor the outfield situation throughout the offseason. As more rumors and news comes up, we will provide further updates here and on social media at @SoxOn35th.
Featured Photo: Laura Wolff Photography/Charlotte Knights
