It is no secret that the San Diego Padres desperately need to upgrade an offense that finished last in baseball, however, the small budget Friars appear to have interest in a high-priced bat.
The San Diego Padres held a second private workout for Cuban costless agent outfielder Yasmany Tomas on Tuesday -- the second such workout the Padres have held for the power-hitting outfielder. The news was reported by Ben Badler of Baseball America.
In addition to the two workouts the Padres have scheduled at their Dominican Republic training facility, San Diego general manager A.J. Preller also attended a workout for Tomas that was hosted by the Giants in September. The Padres brass has seen Tomas workout three times since September 21st.
A.J. Preller was known to be very active scouting Latin players while he worked with the Rangers, so the Padres GM may be doing his due diligence. The Padres have never been a big player in the costless agent market, and it is difficult to tell if their interest is genuine, but perhaps the Padres ownership is willing to pay for a player of Tomas' potential. The bidding is expected to approach $100 million for the 23-year-old slugging outfielder.
Tomas is an International costless agent, so he is costless to sign at any time. In addition to San Diego, the outfielder has had a private workout with the Texas Rangers and the Philadelphia Phillies. Tomas will turn 24 next month.