Cuban two-way player Oscar Colas, who is seeking a path to the major leagues, has rejected the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks' claims to his services, citing an invalid contract, his agents said Wednesday.
Colas, a 21-year-old who burned up Japan's Western League for the Hawks' farm team last summer and homered in his first at-bat for the big club, did not return to Cuba after the 2019 season.
After his defection, some in the American media dubbed the left-handed slugger the "Cuban Ohtani," although the hard-throwing southpaw only pitched at the lowest levels in Japan.