Tag Archives: SoftBank Hawks

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Hawks unlikely to block Colas deal

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With strong-armed slugging outfielder Oscar Colas having defected and in pursuit of a major league job, the SoftBank Hawks are in a position to block his signing since he remains on the club’s 70-man roster.

The Hawks have the right to sign Colas for 2020, and even if he doesn’t sign, they can still put him on the restricted list, preventing a major league team from signing him. In an ideal world, they could sell their rights in him to an interested party.

Unfortunately, transfers of players from NPB to MLB are governed by the posting system — and the window for posting players for 2020 closed on Dec. 5.

Putting Colas on the restricted list would also require the Hawks to expend a roster spot on him, so it’s a no-win situation for the three-time defending Japan Series champs. The last player to go on NPB’s restricted list was Lourdes Gurriel Jr. who refused to report to camp after signing a contract to join his older brother Yulieski with the DeNA BayStars.

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The kotatsu league: Hawks’ Colas quits Cuba for MLB

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Left-handed-hitting SoftBank Hawks outfielder Oscar Colas has reportedly fled Cuba in order to pursue a career in MLB.

Colas is currently on the Hawks’ 70-man roster unlike fellow Cuban outfielders Alfredo Despaigne and Yurisbel Gracial, whose status is pending negotiations with Cuban authorities.

The slugger played in seven Pacific League games this season, homering in his first plate appearance on Aug. 18 in Fukuoka.

Oscar Colas goes deep in his first-team debut in Japan on Aug. 18, 2019.

After failing to get any kind of memorable results in his first two minor league seasons with the Hawks, Colas slashed .302/.350/.516 last year in the WL, a notorious pitchers’ league. A left-handed pitcher, he did appear on the mound for the Hawks’ third team, where younger players compete against amateur sides — this is the level where first-year Hawks pitcher Carter Stewart Jr competed in 2019.

Colas pitching against an independent minor league side.

Colas becomes the third player to defect after signing a professional contract to play in Japan, following Yuli Gurriel, who played in 62 games for the DeNA BayStars. His brother Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was to join him in Yokohama for 2015, but neither reported and were eventually released.