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Yasmany Tomas and his involvement with the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team, a very brief history:
Chapter 1: Tomas signs 6-year, $68.5 million deal in 2014 as a 24-year old free agent from Cuba. Plan is to try him at third base with the outfield as a fallback option.
Chapter 1: Tomas signs 6-year, $68.5 million deal in 2014 as a 24-year old free agent from Cuba. Plan is to try him at third base with the outfield as a fallback option.
Chapter 1 cont'd: Said contract included opt outs for the most expensive of Tomas' contract years, years in which he would make more than $32 million combined.
He did not opt out.
He did not opt out.
Chapter 2: Tomas made his MLB debut on April 15 (Tax Day, heavy theme vibes), 2015. He registered his first hit four days later and his first home run a month later on May 16th. His rookie season was not good, but it wasn't abysmally bad, either. He couldn't field 3B for certain.
Chapter 3: Tomas was noted as having potential 30-HR power when that was still notable, and he delivered 31 homers over 140 games in 2016. It was the only season that he was an above average hitter (106 DRC+). His WARP was still negative, however, as he couldn't handle OF either.
Chapter 4: Tomas' 2017 season didn't get off to a great start and repetitive groin injuries, then a core injury, shut him down in early June. He didn't return to the majors for quite some time.
Chapter 5: After missing more than half of 2017, Tomas didn't make the squad when spring camp broke in March of 2018. Articles began to surface of Tomas being the "most expensive MiLB player" in baseball later that summer. He was never called up in '18, played 106 games in Reno.
Chapter 6: In April of 2018, Tomas was placed on waivers. Despite the fact that a claiming team would only need to pay him a prorated portion of the MLB minimum salary, there were no takers. He went unclaimed.
Chapter 7: Tomas was redeemed in 2019. He was called up in July and got a whopping six plate appearances. He registered no hits and struck out three times. He was subsequently punted from the 40-man roster and headed back to Reno.
Chapter 7: Tomas' crowing achievement came in an Aces uniform, however. Prior to his 2019 call-up, he narrowly defeated NYY journeyman Mike Ford in the AAA Home Run Derby. Tomas hoisted the title belt in a sort of lackluster triumph. He won *something*.
Chapter 8: In his swan song, Tomas' didn't sing. He was never part of the 2020 Diamondbacks' plans, despite the team's struggles. He didn't make 60-man roster, never appeared in the majors. His career production stands at -1.6 WARP.
An unsatisfactory ending to an unsatisfactory episode, no doubt. It's really the epitome of a certain period in Diamondbacks history, however, one in which blunders were compounded with further blunders, the magnitude of which can still be felt.
