Otherwise, you have function alpha
in package scales
in which you can directly input your vector of colors (even if they are factors as in your example):
library(scales)
cols <- cut(z, 6, labels = c("pink", "red", "yellow", "blue", "green", "purple"))
plot(x, y, main= "Fragment recruitment plot - FR-HIT",
ylab = "Percent identity", xlab = "Base pair position",
col = alpha(cols, 0.4), pch=16)
# For an alpha of 0.4, i. e. an opacity of 40%.