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

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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 catch ...

in the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

organization. He has previously played in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB) 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. Founded on February 22, 1938, as the Nankai Club, being the first Kansai t ...

, and in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for 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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

Career

Colás was born in Cuba. He attended Escuela Número 95 Nguyen in Van Troy, Cuba.

Cuban National Series

In 2016–2017 season, Colás 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 (, or SNB) is a domestic baseball competition in Cuba. Formed after the dissolution of the Cuban League in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, the National Series is a part of the Cuban baseball league system. For most ...

. On May 10, 2017, the

Government of Cuba Cuba is communist and has had a socialist political system since 1961 based on the "one state, one party" principle. Cuba is constitutionally defined as a single-party Marxist–Leninist socialist republic with semi-presidential powers. The pre ...

signed a contract to dispatch Colás and Liván Moinelo to the

as a developmental player. From mid-2017 season to mid-2019 season, he played in informal games against Shikoku Island League Plus's teams and amateur baseball teams, and played in the Western League of NPB's minor leagues.

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

On June 24, 2019, Colás 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 ...

, and recorded a home run at the first

Plate appearance In baseball, 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. This ha ...

in the

Pacific League The , or , or the , due to sponsorship reasons, 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 a ...

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

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

Chicago White Sox

On January 25, 2022, Colás signed with the

. His

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

was $2.7 million. Soon after, Colás gave up pitching to focus on outfield work. Colas spent the 2022 season split between three White Sox affiliates: the High-A

Winston-Salem Dash The Winston-Salem Dash are a Minor League Baseball team in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They are a High-A team in the South Atlantic League and have been a farm team of the Chicago White Sox since 1997. The Dash began playing their home games ...

, Double-A

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The Baron ...

, and Triple-A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field ...

. In 117 games between the three minor league clubs, Colás slashed .314/.371/.524 while tallying 23 home runs, 79 RBI, and 3 stolen bases while being caught four times. On March 26, 2023, the White Sox announced that Colás had made the

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster. He made his MLB debut on March 30, recording a hit as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

. Colás batted .211 with one home run and seven RBI in 25 games, before he was optioned to Charlotte. In 48 games for Charlotte, he batted .293 with nine home runs and 29 RBI before he was promoted to the major leagues in July. In 2023 in the major leagues he batted .216/.257/.314 with 5 home runs and 19 RBI in 245 at-bats, as he stole four bases in seven attempts and played primarily right field. Colás was optioned to Triple–A Charlotte to begin the 2024 season. In 13 games for the White Sox, he went 9-for-33 (.273) with four RBI. Colás was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by Chicago on March 26, 2025. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Charlotte on March 28. Colás made 29 appearances split between Charlotte and Birmingham, but posted a .163/.245/.255 batting line with one home run, 12 RBI, and three stolen bases. Colás was released by the White Sox organization on May 24.

Los Angeles Angels

On May 27, 2025, Colás signed a minor league contract with the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colas, Oscar 1998 births Living people Avispas de Santiago de Cuba players Baseball players from Santiago de Cuba Province Birmingham Barons players Charlotte Knights players Chicago White Sox players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Japan Defecting Cuban baseball players Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Cuba 21st-century Cuban sportsmen Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Rocket City Trash Pandas players Winston-Salem Dash players