We have seen a pair of Cuban stars make an impact in Major League Baseball in the last two seasons, with outfielder Yasiel Puig a key cog in two division-winning Dodgers teams and White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu running away with 2014 American League Rookie of the Year honors. Those two followed Yoenis Cespedes, who has won the last two Home Run Derbies and made two trips to the playoffs with the Athletics. The next in line to make the leap from Cuba to riches in the United States is Yasmany Tomas, rumored to be close to signing with a club in the coming days.
Yasmany Tomas, baseball’s next Cuban star
The 24-year-old Cuban outfielder is expected to sign with a major league team soon.
Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
Here is what we know about Tomas.
The 6’4, 230-pound outfielder turned 24 on Friday. He defected from Cuba in June, took up residence in Haiti, and is now a free agent.
“It was really difficult to leave Cuba. It is for all us who do it,” Tomas told Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com in September. “But it’s difficult there with the way the security is and how they control the players. I made an important decision to fulfill my dream and see if I was at the level of Major League players. Here I am, and now I go forward.”
Strengths
Tomas is known for his power, and could be helped by Abreu exploding for 36 home runs in his first year in 2014, third in the American League.
“Tomas can hit towering home runs,” wrote Ben Badler at Baseball America in June. “Tomas has 70 raw power on the 20-80 scale, and with Jose Abreu already gone, the only player still in Cuba with more raw power than him was Alfredo Despaigne.”
“He’s got more power than Abreu,” Jay Alou, the agent for Tomas, told John Tomase of the Boston Herald. “He’s got a lot more power. Abreu’s a little older, more mature with his bat. Sometimes it takes guys longer to figure things out. And the last couple of weeks, a lot of things have clicked for Yasmany. I can tell you he’s got a lot more power than anyone I’ve seen. A lot.”
Experience
Most eyes in the United States, if they know Tomas, saw him in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, where he was 6-for-16 (.375) with two home runs, a double, five RBI and one walk in six games for Cuba.
Tomas played for five years with the Havana Industriales in Serie Nacional, the Cuban professional league.
Here is footage of Tomas working out for major league teams in the Dominican Republic in September:
Cost
Because Tomas is at least 23 years old and has played at least five years in a professional league, as stipulated per the collective bargaining agreement, he is considered a professional free agent and not subject to the international bonus pool limits imposed on signing international amateurs.
That has Tomas in line for a payday similar to the $68 million over six years received by Abreu, or the $72.5 million over seven years given to outfielder Rusney Castillo by the Red Sox. Gone are the days of grabbing a potential impact slugger like Cespedes for four years and only $36 million, or Puig for seven years and $42 million, as their success gave teams the confidence to invest more heavily in Cuban hitters.
Alou said an eight-year offer was already turned down, per Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, with Tomas preferring a shorter contract so he can cash in again on another big free agent deal when he is still somewhere between ages 27-30. Cespedes employed a similar strategy when he turned down six-year offers to sign with Oakland for only four seasons at a higher annual value.
Position
Tomas has mostly played outfield, though he has also seen some time at first base and earlier at third base. The Giants are reportedly interested in Tomas at third base, a position he also worked out at for the Diamondbacks. But he seems best suited for the outfield, specifically in left or right field.
“He has some experience in center field and is a decent runner for his size,” wrote Badler, “But his speed is still below-average and he’s going to be a corner outfielder in pro ball.”
Badler reinforced his thought that Tomas wouldn’t play third base in the major leagues in a recent tweet.
He's an outfielder RT @Tommy_Blackjack can he actually play 3B? keep seeing stuff that says yes, but I dunno
— Ben Badler (@BenBadler) November 14, 2014
Suitors
In addition to the Giants and Diamondbacks, the Royals, Twins, Mets, Padres, Phillies, Orioles, Dodgers, Mariners, Rangers and Red Sox are all linked to Tomas in some way or another, with varying levels of interest.
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