Oscar Colas, Cuban prospect to sign with Chicago White Sox for 2.7 M
Oscar Colás left Cuba on January 2, 2020 with the illusion of signing with an MLB organization
Cuban prospect Oscar Colás, considered by many to be the Cuban Ohtani, will sign with the Chicago White Sox for around 2.7M when the next international signing period begins on January 15, 2022, sources confirmed to me.
Oscar Colás left Cuba on January 2, 2020 with the illusion of signing with an MLB organization. However, he encountered the first adversity on his way: the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, a team with which he had been in Japan between 2017 and 2019, refused to release him and claimed that Colás still had a pending contract with them for 2020.
This whole awkward situation lasted until the end of November when he finished the season in Japan. Fukuoka’s management removed him from the restricted list and on December 22, the MLB Commissioner’s Office declared Colás a free agent.
This delay of more than 11 months made Colas lose all of 2020 and now he will lose 2021. The explanation is that the Major League organizations interested in the Cuban Ohtani spent their budgets corresponding to 2020 and 2021 because they did not know when the situation of the 22-year-old Cuban would be resolved.
As of January, Colas and his representatives began to audition for multiple MLB teams, including the Mets, Marlins, White Sox, Angels, and Cardinals, among others. The absence of budgets according to the value of Colás made his hiring move to the international period of 2021, which will officially begin on January 15, 2022.
Only 6 MLB teams have a seven-figure budget for the remainder of 2020: Yankees (2.1M), Angels (1.7M), White Sox (1.7M), Athletics (1.2M), Royals (1.0M) and Diamondbacks ( 1.0 M).
The Mets, as I learned from various sources, offered 2.5 M for Colás. The Angels touched the 2.0M figure, however, it was the Chicago White Sox who once again won the bid for a Cuban prospect by offering Colás a bonus around 2.7M.
The left-handed hitter, who can also shoot from the outfield above 90 miles with ease, will become, once his signature is made official, in the 13th Cuban with the White Sox, joining José Abreu, Yasmani Grandal, Luis Robert, Yoan Moncada — these 4 on the active MLB roster — , Laz Rivera, Lemay Bernal, Lency Delgado, Yolbert Sanchez, Bryan Ramos, Lazaro Leal, Yoelqui Cespedes and Norge Vera, these last two recent signings from the 2020 international period.
