Oscar Colas was reassigned to Triple-A after being sent to the bench and then on the 10-day injured list along with Tommy Pham and Andrew Benintendi.
He is being sent to Charlotte by the Chicago White Sox in order to receive regular at-bats. Pedro Grifol, the manager, made a suggestion that Colas might be headed back to the lesser leagues. Eloy Jimenez is expected to return from his 10-day IL, making Colas the odd man out.
Colas’ downgrade, though, has drawn some criticism.
For this team, right field has always been a problem ever since Jermaine Dye left Chicago almost fifteen years ago. Last season, there was anticipation that Colas would finally be a permanent fix. His reckless approaches to the plate and his inability to hit the cut-off guy landed him in Grifol’s doghouse.
Colas’ situation deteriorated to the point where, in the midst of a 101-loss season in late 2023, he was relegated to Charlotte. Spring training lasted for a week, after which he was assigned to minor league camp.
After Pham and Benintendi were placed on the 10-day injured list, Colas worked on improving his plate discipline, which led to his recall to the major leagues. Grifol also praised a more methodical approach.
Benintendi’s playing time is being dictated by money, even if his value statistics indicate that he will rank among the poorest players in baseball at the end of the season. Pham is being forced to play by the trade market in an attempt by the front office to swap Tommy for some future assets.
Corey Julks, who is older than Colas and has demonstrated he can be a fourth outfielder, is still with the Sox. In addition, once Eloy comes off the injured list, Gavin Sheets will need to be given some time to establish his power bat in the order.
Money talks when it comes to Benintendi’s playing time, despite the fact that his value statistics suggest he will be among baseball’s poorest players at the end of the season. The front office is pressuring Pham to participate in the trade market in an effort to exchange Tommy for some potential future assets.
The Sox still have Corey Julks, who is older than Colas and has proven he can play fourth outfield. Furthermore, Gavin Sheets needs to be given some time to establish himself as the order’s power bat after Eloy returns from the injured list.
However, despite Colas’s solid on-base performance (.368 OBP), his slugging percentage was only.273. In 13 games, he was 9 for 33, but none of his nine hits resulted in extra bases. Colas’s future development will therefore involve fusing his improved plate discipline with his ball-driving skills.
He will be able to accomplish that by going to Triple-A Charlotte. After Pham is traded, Colas should be able to return and use his walk-writing ability to drive the ball and get on base. He will only be able to be the answer as the long-term right field starter in this manner.
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