The Chicago White Sox claimed Greg Jones and added him to the 40-man roster. Plus, more 40-man roster moves have to be made for some of these non-roster spring training invites who are trending toward making the initial 26-man roster.
Therefore, someone has to be booted off the 40-man roster. Outfielder Oscar Colas has been offered up as the roster sacrifice.
The team designated Colas for assignment.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) March 26, 2025
It means he is the latest of many the club once thought would be the long-term answer in right field to the team's long-term problem of finding that guy. This team is still trying to replace Jermaine Dye, who retired after the 2009 season.
Colas was tabbed to be the next young outfielder to fill that roster hole. His failure now follows in the line of Nomar Mazara and Avisail Garcia as young options that never worked out.
Let's not forget the patchwork options of Carlos Quentin, Alex Rios, Adam Eaton, and A.J. Pollack that could not provide a sustained run after Magglio Ordonez and then Dye held that position down for 12 years from 1998 through 2009.
Colas was given a 75-game runway in 2023, and his reckless play in the field and at the plate earned him a spot in former manager Pedro Grifol's doghouse.
He was demoted to the minors after a .216/.257.314 slash line in 2023. He was asked to be more disciplined at the plate and hit the cutoff man at Triple-A. He actually did what was asked of him.
However, he only got a brief 13-game run last season.
Colas was demoted to minor-league camp after a .250/.333/.375 slash line, including having a blooper play in the field.
With his career going nowhere with the White Sox, it makes sense for the team to finally move on. Turns out the White Sox did not find the Cuban Ohtani.
The Sox are going with the faster Jones instead of Colas for organizational depth.
He is also 27, which is a year older than Colas, so it shows how far Oscar has fallen in the organization's eyes. Jones has just six big-league plate appearances, however his one hit was a home run.
Jones can bring some serious speed to the basepaths as he had 46 stolen bases and was thrown out just three times at Triple-A last season.
Jones is a former first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2019. He has a career .266/.347/.442 slash line in five seasons of minor league ball.
Jones can play centerfielder and some infield, so he provides a bit more versatility than Colas.