The sweepstakes for Cuban outfielder Yasmany Tomas is down to four teams, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, with the Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants all in the mix.
However, the last week has seen the Braves and Padres rise to the top and become front-runners to sign Tomas, and both clubs are now sending their top officials to meet with the 24-year-old in the Dominican Republic this weekend.
Unfortunately, it might be a few more weeks until either team can claim an offseason victory, as Tomas is “mulling a number of contract offers” and also considering attending next week’s winter meetings in San Diego, per Austin Laymance of MLB.com.
Until then, here’s a look at how signing Tomas might impact his top suitors.
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are viewed as one of the top suitors for Tomas, writes Ben Badler of Baseball America (subscription required). On Thursday, Giants assistant general manager Bobby Evans confirmed to KNBR radio (via a tweet from Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle) that the team is “very interested” in Tomas.
However, the Giants’ ability to sign Tomas is tied to free-agent third baseman Pablo Sandoval's status. He's currently listening to contract offers for upward of $100 million from multiple teams, including the Giants.
For what it’s worth, Evans sincerely believes the Giants are still in the mix to re-sign the three-time World Series champion. More on that from Schulman:
Evans spoke to Sandoval’s agent this morning. Contrary to the notion that Sandoval has no interest in returning to San Francisco, put forth in a report by KPIX on Wednesday, Evans said, 'We’ve got every indication that we’re right in the middle of it.'
Evans said he understands that money and years will play the dominant role in Sandoval’s ultimate decision, but he still feels the Panda’s ties to San Francisco will play a role. 'I think the interest is sincere,' Evans said. 'I think Pablo loves this fanbase as much as any player loves a fanbase, and that could go a long way.
Meanwhile, it’s worth noting that Evans remained tight-lipped during the aforementioned radio interview when asked whether the Giants could afford to sign both Tomas and Sandoval.
The Giants lack viable internal options at third base and left field, and should they fail to re-sign Sandoval as well as free-agent Michael Morse—who hit 16 home runs last season on a one-year deal with the Giants—then it’d make sense to go all-in and meet Tomas’ lofty asking price.
“Power is the calling card for Tomas, a strong man with big lift in his swing,” writes Badler. “It’s 70 raw power on the 20-80 scale, with a chance to hit 25-plus home runs over a full season, possibly more depending on contact frequency in game situations.”
Some evaluators, such as Badler, believe Tomas might be better off with a few months at the Triple-A level. However it’s safe to assume that if the Giants ultimately sign Tomas, they’ll expect him to make the jump directly to the major leagues and supplant Morse and Sandoval’s power in the heart of the lineup.
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies have been linked to Tomas for what feels like an eternity, and up until this week they were widely considered the front-runners to sign him.
Back on Nov. 5, Heyman wrote:
The Phillies are said by people in the know to be 'all over' Tomas, the outfielder/third baseman who has been holding private workouts in the Dominican Republic in recent days after a widely attended September showcase that is said to have drawn all 30 MLB teams.
However, recent reports suggest Philadelphia’s interest level has waned in the last few weeks, and the team might be ready to completely drop out of the sweepstakes for Tomas.
The Phillies, once considered favorites to land free-agent outfielder Yasmany Tomas, have cooled on the idea of signing the 24-year-old Cuban defector, according to Major League sources.
While the Phils, who had a private workout with Tomas, still like his bat, there are concerns about his defense. They now view him as more of a designated hitter-type player, the sources added.
Of course, that thinking could change if the price for Tomas, once estimated to be as high as $100 million, begins to come down. The Phillies are trying to trade right fielder Marlon Byrd with an eye toward moving Domonic Brown from left to right. That would mean they would need to fill the vacancy in left internally (Grady Sizemore, Darin Ruf, Aaron Altherr) or from outside the organization.
I still view Tomas as a good fit for the Phillies given his age, raw power and overall potential, and in theory he’d give the team something to build around moving forward should they trade Hamels and launch a long-overdue rebuilding process. Plus, signing Tomas to play either right or left field would allow the Phillies to explore trades for Marlon Byrd and/or Domonic Brown.
Therefore, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if Hagen’s latest report is nothing more than the Phillies attempting to soften a suddenly aggressive market for Tomas. And for what it’s worth, there was still one MLB executive that, as of Thursday, saw the Phillies as the the easy favorites to land Tomas this offseason, per a tweet from ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark.
Atlanta Braves
Atlanta is the latest team to enter the sweepstakes for Tomas, according MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez, and they’re quickly emerging as one of the favorites.
Meanwhile, Heyman also hears the Braves are interested in Tomas, noting the team is set to see him in a private workout:
The Braves could qualify as a surprise team, but they recently made room in the outfield by trading Jason Heyward. They also have been in trade talks involving outfielders Justin Upton and Evan Gattis, but new Braves president of baseball operations John Hart has long loved power hitters, as folks may recall from his Cleveland and Texas days.
Whether the Braves actually try to sign Tomas is likely to hinge on their plans for Upton; it doesn’t strike me as a coincidence that news of Atlanta’s sudden interest in Tomas emerged at the same time as reports suggesting Upton is available.
Mark Bowman of MLB.com believes the Braves will trade Upton before pulling the trigger on Tomas:
To be in position to sign either Lester or Tomas, the Braves would likely first have to trade Justin Upton, who is owed $14.5 million before becoming eligible for free agency next year. Upton's market is improved by the fact that he is being made available at a time when there are not many attractive outfielders on the free-agent market.
If the Braves expect to sign Tomas, it makes sense for them to first deal Upton in exchange for prospects, presumably pitchers. With Upton out, the team would then be free to deploy Tomas in left field or possibly even right should Evan Gattis be moved to the outfield.
San Diego Padres
A.J. Preller appears poised to make a splash in his first offseason as general manager of the Padres, as he’s currently on the brink of landing two of the top hitters in this year’s free-agent class.
The Padres are believed to be one of three teams in the mix to sign third baseman Pablo Sandoval, and Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tweeted Thursday that San Diego was expected to offer him a five-year deal in the $90 to $95 million range.
Meanwhile, Preller has continued to aggressively pursue Tomas, targeting the Cuban outfielder for his universal power and middle-of-the-order potential.
From Corey Brock of MLB.com:
The Padres have scouted 24-year-old outfielder Tomas on several occasions and have also looked at him at third base, Preller said recently. A report in recent weeks discounted the Padres' chances, but a source said Wednesday the Padres are still considering Tomas. ...
... Tomas is believed to be seeking at least a five- to seven-year deal with an annual salary near $15 million, but the Tomas camp has not ruled out the possibility of signing a short-term, high-value deal that would allow him to return to the free-agent market sooner.
FanGraphs’ Kiley McDaniel tweeted Thursday that he’d heard the Padres were still in the mix for Tomas and were willing to offer him up to $70 million, which could be a potential steal depending on the length of the contract.
Regardless, the fact that the Padres are trying to secure not one but two impact hitters this offseason is a huge step in the right direction.
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