The Diamondbacks will call up outfielder Yasmany Tomas prior to Friday’s game against the Marlins, the Pelota Cubana blog reports (Twitter link).  Adjustments will have to be made to Arizona’s 25-man and 40-man roster, as Tomas was outrighted off the 40-man in April 2018.

This will mark Tomas’ first Major League action since 2017, as the 28-year-old spent all of last season at Triple-A Reno.  Signed to a six-year, $68.5MM contract prior to the 2015 season, Tomas hasn’t at all lived up to the buzz that made him one of the most highly-touted players to come out of Cuba in recent years.  Tomas hit .268/.307/.462 with 48 home runs over 1169 plate appearances for the D’Backs from 2015-17, with the bulk of that production coming during a 31-homer campaign in 2016 that seemed like a breakout.

Instead, Tomas regressed in 2017, and seemed to fall out of favor once Mike Hazen took over as Arizona’s general manager.  Since that outright assignment, Tomas has seemed to rediscover some his stroke at the plate, particularly with his .944 OPS in 413 Triple-A plate appearances this season.

Tomas has also spent the bulk of his time this year at first base, which theoretically would be his likeliest role with the D’Backs.  Since Paul Goldschmidt was locked into first base during Tomas’ initial stint with the team, Tomas struggled badly on defense while playing third base and in the corner outfield.  The D’Backs already have the right-handed hitting Christian Walker at first base this season, though while Walker has generally hit well, he has hit enough of a slump over the last month that Arizona might feel it worthy to give Tomas a shot at re-establishing himself.  Tomas could still see some playing time in the outfield, particularly if Adam Jones or David Peralta is dealt before the trade deadline.

The D’Backs still owe Tomas roughly $23.2MM through the end of the 2020 season, so there’s little harm in seeing if Tomas’ Triple-A numbers are for real and if some value can still be salvaged from the contract.  With the Snakes also still in the NL wild card hunt, Tomas could be an in-house (if unlikely) hitting upgrade that can help the club immediately, and potentially keep them from looking for a bat elsewhere before the deadline.

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