The Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to a 6-year, $68.5 million contract with Cuban outfielder Yasmany Tomas, according to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com. Tomas has yet to play a game in the major leagues, though has been very highly regarded after playing five seasons with the Havana Industriales of the Serie Nacional in Cuba.
Tomas defected from Cuba this past summer, and started to train and workout for major league teams soon after. He impressed in a workout for scouts from all 30 teams, garnering a lot of interest. Tomas, only 24, held private workouts for the Braves, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Mariners, Giants, Padres, Phillies, Rangers, Red Sox and Royals. The Braves, Diamondbacks, Giants and Padres were considered to be the front-runners in the Tomas sweepstakes.
Ultimately Tomas chose Arizona, joining the power-hitting forces of Paul Goldschmidt and Mark Trumbo in a lineup hoping to have a bounce-back season. The Diamondbacks were a surprising 64-98 in 2014, while losing Goldschmidt for the second half of the season due to injury. Tomas will provide another right-handed power bat in the middle of Arizona's order.
Tomas projects to be a corner outfielder, with raw power. He has drawn comparisons to players such as Dayan Viciedo and Yoenis Cespedes (according to FanGraphs).
In 205 regular season games over the five years with the Industriales, Tomas hit 30 home runs with 104 RBIs.