The Nationals have agreed to a minor league contract with corner outfielder Yasmany Tomas, as first reported by Francys Romero (via Twitter). He’ll be invited to Major League Spring Training with the Nats in 2021. Tomas turned down a couple of offers in Japan with an eye on playing first base in the Majors, MLBTR has learned.
For the Nats, adding Tomas is likely a simple depth move early in the winter. First base might be the best path back to the Majors for Tomas, as he logged 346 innings at the position in Triple-A last year and the Nats don’t have much at the position with Eric Thames, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Howie Kendrick hitting free agency. The Nats also have a need in one corner outfield spot after declining their 2021 option on Adam Eaton and outrighting Michael A. Taylor off the 40-man roster, but Tomas isn’t likely to win a starting role there.
Washington will be the first big league organization outside of Arizona for the 30-year-old Tomas, who came to the Major Leagues amid considerable fanfare after defecting from Cuba in 2014. Tomas generated widescale interest and huge expectations that led to a hefty six-year, $68.5MM deal — a contract that even included an opt-out clause after the fourth season.
Of course, as anyone who followed Tomas’ career in Arizona knows, that opt-out provision never came into play. Tomas spent some time in Triple-A in 2015, his first season with the club, which was not wholly unexpected. He struggled at the plate in that rookie season but did improve with a 31-homer showing in 2016 — albeit one that came with sub-par on-base skills (.272/.313/.508) and poor outfield defense.
After that 2016 campaign, the D-backs cleaned house in the front office, parting ways with several key execs who contributed to signing Tomas — including then-GM Dave Stewart. Chief baseball officer Tony La Russa “stepped away” after the 2017 season. The new front office, led by current GM Mike Hazen, wasn’t as committed to giving Tomas a lengthy audition. He appeared in just 47 games in 2017, missing much of that year due to a groin injury, and would only ever suit up for four games with the D-backs again. Tomas was outrighted off the 40-man roster in 2018 and hit poorly in Triple-A that year. He rebounded in Reno in 2019 but only received a brief big league look for his efforts. Arizona did not include him in its 60-man player pool this past season.
On the whole, Tomas’ time with the D-backs resulted in a .266/.306/.459 slash (97 wRC+ and OPS+). His glove in the outfield checked in at -34 Defensive Runs Saved in just north of 2000 innings, illustrating the defensive struggles he exhibited in Arizona. That said, Tomas’ .193 ISO speaks to the impressive raw power he possesses, and he did tattoo left-handed opponents at a .293/.343/.537 clip during his time with the Diamondbacks (128 wRC+).
wut?
I wonder if Arizona regrets that deal? Hmmm….
No regerts
Or regrets
I was kind of hoping the Pirates would give him a shot as the platoon 1B with Moran.
What would you do with Bell? Not to mention the free world supply of power-only 1B in their system?
I guess hoping the universal DH would come back. But the Pirates don’t have an overabundance of 1B-power guys. The only other one on the 40-man is Will Craig, and I wouldn’t necessarily call him a big power guy. He’s only ever once had an ISO above .200 in a season. Hunter Owen has shown some power but isn’t on the 40-man. Regardless, both of reverse splits.
i mean isnt Moran/Bell/Craig a fairly solid ammount of combined power from that position? i get none of them measure up to a 50 HR type power hitting 1B, but there are a lot of teams whose 1B doesnt hit for much power nowadays.
D-Backs tried him on a corner. Tomas can’t play any position at all, his dWAR nullifies his oWAR. It is DH or nothing. Don’t see him cracking any NL roster.
i dont think he’s nessicarily bad enough at 1B to nullify his hitting value. he hasnt really gotten much of s shot there in the Majors, and was working into the position last year.
That’s not really true or fair. He was blocked by Goldy so yeah they tried him on every corner except the one he should have been on from the get go. By the time they traded Goldy, it was to late. But it was more so the bat that negated him a spot on a roster.
id be curious to see what he can do with a new organization
Wasn’t this guy supposed to be a top-tier player when he was acquired? I could be thinking of someone else…..
*Rusney Castillo waits anxiously by the phone.*
i feel like Castillo will get an offer from someone. The resson he never made it back was because of the tax loophole. i think he would have gotten another look a la Tomas if not for that.
He’s overall a better player than Tomas because he can field and run. He’ll get a minor league deal with some team, but he won’t be trapped in the minors with his next team. Almost feels like a Rays player they can snap in when needed.
Thats one phone that may never ring…
now on the matter of the Nats system, is there any word on their AAA plans for this year? I remember they werent too happy having a AAA affiliate all the way across the country.
It’s possible now that Round Rock is no longer the Astr*s’ AAA affiliate, they opt to partner with the Rangers, leaving the Nashville Sounds for the Nationals
With Sugar Land and likely St. Paul joining AAA, two current AAA will likely be left on the outside looking in. It would be interesting if it ended up being Las Vegas and Nashville because those are two cities most likely to be in the running to receive an expansion team in the future.
So the Giants AA is in richmond, about 100 miles south of DC. there are local rumors that the nationals and giants are going to swap rumors and bring the Nats AAA to Richmond…..but our stadium is super old and would almost certainly need a new stadium deal.
that was just what i saw, which makes sense because Fresno is much closer to SF as well
This could be a very interesting signing if the NL keeps the DH this upcoming season
Players that leave the Arizona Diamondbacks usually thrive will good coaching. Diamondbacks don’t help players get better.
I had my doubts but after reading your awesome argumentation to support that statement I fully agree.
He gone be dope
Not a lot to lose but at 3o the chance of him being a productive major leaguer isn’t very high. Also his PCL OPS stats are probably inflated by .100 because of the altitude.
I am so happy Stewart basically snuck under prellers and stole Tomas away
Thank you
What are the nationals doing ?!? They got any sort of a plan to compete in NL East this year ? Lord knows they got a ton of talent- just not enough to make it back to post season unless they make a big move or 3. Ozuna is an ideal replacement for rendon. Brantley to lesser extent or maybe even turner ? Make a move nats !
This doesn’t prevent them from doing something else
WSH’s failure was they improperly delegated the money to keep their championship team intact. almost all of the team became FA last offseason and they didnt properly replace certain guys while Stras, Asdrubal, and Howie regressed.
They need help at corner OF, 1B (assuming Ryan Z. doesn’t come back, or does so in a very limited role) and possibly at DH. A minor league deal? Sure, why not? No downside here at all.
honestly this seems like a fine thing for any team to do – you aren’t going to expect a lot out of him but minor league money with an invite to ST is kind of a no risk deal that only has upside
another question – who is WSH’s 1B if the season starts today? who do they have that has substantial 1B experience on the roster?
Probably Josh Harrison.
i guess that makes the most sense
I didn’t realize that Washington was using Josh at 1B. I’m just curious, was
that more out of need or because his skills at other positions had declined? He was never Gold Glove caliber at 2B or 3B but was steady (his OF work was a different story, he simply should never play there).
That’s a good question. No way to know if Drew Mendoza is ready. Probably, not yet.
Honestly, I think the Nats fortunes, in a large part, hinge on Kieboom and Robles becoming what they were projected to be. So far the early returns aren’t great.
Another band aid trying to fix the gaping wound from Rendons departue.
The expectation is that Zimmerman will return after sitting out last season. Beyond that there are several options at First Base in free agency: Mitch Morelan, Carlos Santana, Justin Smoak, Travis Shaw, Eric Thames, Daniel Murphy, Yonder Alonso,
Meh. A pinch hitter or part time DH
*stumbled away
This guy is a bum. Why should a team sign a bum. I don’t understand why teams will pay so much for and underachieving average joe. He couldn’t hit a home run if Johnny Ragarm was throwing to him.
This guy is a bum. Why should a team sign a bum. I don’t understand why teams will pay so much for and underachieving average joe. He couldn’t hit a home run if Johnny Ragarm was throwing to him.
I am sick and tired of mlb teams being stupid.
Surely they could use your expertise. Apply for a position.
Dude is a complete dud defensively and has some serious offensive flaws too. However, if someone gave him 600 AB as a DH I have little doubt he would club 35+ HR (albeit with 200+ Ks).