Oscar Luis Colas Leon (born September 17, 1998) is a Cuban

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

in the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

organization. He played for the

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

from 2017 to 2019.

Career

Cuban and Japanese career

In 2016–2017 season, Colas played in the

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

of the

Cuban National Series The Cuban National Series (, SNB) is the primary domestic professional baseball competition in Cuba. Formed after the dissolution of the Cuban League in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, the Series is a part of the Cuban baseball league system. ...

. On May 10, 2017, the

Government of Cuba Cuba has had a socialist political system since 1959 based on the "one state – one party" principle. Cuba is constitutionally defined as a Marxist–Leninist state. The present Constitution of Cuba, which was passed in a 2019 referendum, also ...

signed a contract to dispatch Colas and

Liván Moinelo Liván Moinelo Pita (born December 8, 1995) is a Cuban professional baseball pitcher for Vegueros de Pinar del Rio in the Cuban National Series. He was dispatched to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in 2017. Career Moinelo played for the Cuban natio ...

to the

as a developmental player. From mid-2017 season to mid-2019 season, he played in informal matches against

Shikoku Island League Plus The is an independent professional baseball league on the island of Shikoku in Japan. (None of the teams in Nippon Professional Baseball are based in Shikoku.) The league currently has four teams, and has its league headquarters in Takamatsu. Th ...

's teams and amateur baseball teams, and played in the Western League of NPB's minor leagues. On June 24, 2019, Colas signed a 15 million yen contract (~US$140,000) with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks as a registered player under control. On August 18, he debuted against the

Saitama Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, wh ...

, and recorded a home run at the first

Plate appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...

in the

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consis ...

. In 2019 season, he played 7 games in the Pacific League. On January 3, 2020, Francys Romero of MLB.com reported that Colas has defected from Cuba and is looking to sign on with a Major League team. On December 23, 2020, Colas was officially granted his release and declared a free agent by

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. He was made eligible to sign with a club starting in January 2021.

Chicago White Sox

On January 25, 2022, Colas signed with the

. His bonus was worth $2.7 million. Soon after, Colas gave up pitching to focus on outfield work.

References

External links

NPB.jp
- Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Colas, Oscar 1998 births Living people Avispas de Santiago de Cuba players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Japan Defecting Cuban baseball players Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks players Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers People from Santiago de Cuba Province Winston-Salem Dash players Birmingham Barons players