White Sox release OF Leury Garcia after 9-plus seasons

The Chicago White Sox bid goodbye to longtime veteran outfielder Leury Garcia on Thursday, paving the way for prospect Oscar Colas to begin his career with the South Siders.

The moves were among several made by the team to finalize its Opening Day roster. The White Sox open in Houston on Thursday night.

In addition to Colas, the White Sox selected the contract of infielder Hanser Alberto. They optioned left-hander Tanner Banks and infielder Jake Burger to Triple-A Charlotte.

Finally, the team placed pitchers Liam Hendriks, Matt Foster and Garrett Crochet on the 15-day injured list, all retroactive to March 27. Hendriks is making progress in his battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The White Sox are anxious to get Colas on the field. The No. 2 prospect in the organization ripped 23 home runs, 24 doubles with 79 RBIs and an OPS of .895 in three different levels of minor league ball in 2022, culminating at Charlotte.

The White Sox signed him for $2.7 million in January 2022 after the 24-year-old spent time playing in Cuba and Japan.

Garcia's time comes to an end after 676 career games (542 starts) in a White Sox uniform. He hit just .210 last season but batted .254 overall with 34 home runs, 282 runs and 200 RBIs in his nine-plus seasons with Chicago.

Garcia, 32, has played all but 25 games of his major league career with the ChiSox. Chicago acquired Garcia as the player to be named later in the August 2013 trade that sent Alex Rios to the Texas Rangers. Garcia played 25 big league games with the Rangers.

Garcia has played all over the outfield, mainly center, but has also played every infield position except for first base.