The first major move of the new Arizona Diamondbacks front office became official on Monday as they announced the signing of Cuban slugger Yasmany Tomas to a six year deal worth a reported $68.5 million.
“My dream has always been to play with the best players in the world and that’s in Major League Baseball,” said Tomas. “I have a lot of respect for the Diamondbacks and enjoyed meeting Dave Stewart and De Jon Watson during my recent workouts. I have great expectations for my career and cannot wait to join the team and start my big league career.”
“The opportunity to find a power bat like Tomas does not come along very often and we are extremely excited for him to join the D-backs,” said Diamondbacks General Manager Dave Stewart. “Having had the opportunity to see him play, both in the World Baseball Classic and during recent workouts in the Dominican Republic, we believe that he can have a real impact on our lineup in the years to come.”
Tomas is a native of Havana, Cuba becomes the 10th player from Cuba to play for the D-Backs since 2011. Last year, he played six games during the 2013 World Baseball Classic, batting .375 with two homers, five RBI and a 1.224 OPS. Baseball America called him the sixth-best non-MLB player in the tournament.
Tomas will spend most of his time playing in the corner outfield joining an already stacked position which includes Ender Inciarte, David Peralta and Mark Trumbo. He also played third base as well as first base as a professional in Cuba. Third base could be a spot he could compete for as well against top-five prospect Jake Lamb who broke into the majors last season. He turned pro in his native country at the age of 18 where he hit 30 home runs, 104 RBI along with 15 stolen bases in 205 regular season games dating back to 2008.
As the Baseball Winter Meetings are just underway in San Diego, many believe more moves are on the horizon with the depth the Diamondbacks currently have in the corner outfield spots. But one thing is for sure, the potential of Tomas along with Paul Goldschmidt in the middle of the batting order is one that the Diamondbacks hope will be as dangerous as there is for years to come.
