NEWSLETTER
Although he hasn’t yet technically been declared a free agent by MLB, now that he’s been unblocked by the U.S. Government, it’s clear that free agency is coming very soon for 23-year-old Cuban slugger Yasmani Tomas.
To that end, Jesse Sanchez reports that Tomas is tentatively scheduled to showcase for MLB teams in the Dominican Republic late next week. From there, it’s possible Tomas could do individual team workouts, a la Rusney Castillo, before he signed a six-year, $72 million deal with the Red Sox.
Sanchez’s piece, which is well worth a read, notes that scouts see Tomas as a high risk, high reward type, though he’s been working on his physique and his plate discipline since leaving Cuba. Sanchez also tweeted the latest hype video on Tomas, which may not tell you a ton about him other than the fact that he’s a big dude:
http://youtu.be/tBW3zwBCfCY
I can’t wait to hear what folks say about his workout next week, at which virtually all MLB teams should be in attendance.
We’ve mentioned it before in passing, but it’s probably worth noting more explicitly now as free agency approaches for Tomas: he did deal with a wrist injury last year. That can be a particularly tricky injury for a hitter to fully overcome, especially in the power department (which is Tomas’s calling card). It’s certainly not yet fair to assume that he’ll be negatively affected by the injury in the near or long-term, and he’ll have an opportunity to show – at least in showcases and workouts – that all is well.
