Yasmany Tomás: Reactions and responses

"Whereas fellow outfielders Cespedes, Puig and Soler are often referred to as having the build and athleticism of running backs, drawing Bo Jackson comparisons, the 6-foot-1 Tomas, who is listed at 230 pounds, is also big and powerful but has less lean muscle mass. He will develop a gut if he’s not careful and has a physique that’s more reminiscent of Miguel Cabrera’s; powerful but soft. He’s athletic enough to play either outfield corner and some teams even tried him out at third base this fall, but he won’t make a contribution on defense except perhaps with his arm. Rather, his major league success will be almost entirely dependent on his bat."
-- Cliff Corcoran, Sports Illustrated.

"So far, from what scouts have gleaned in interviews and background research on Tomas, he appears to be closer to Abreu than Puig on the diva spectrum. "He's a humble kid," a National League scout said. "He respects the game, he has knowledge of the game and he listens. He's not a guy with all the answers. He looks you in the eye and gives you a firm handshake, and you can tell he has a good baseball IQ and the desire to be better. He passed my makeup test.""
-- Jerry Crasnick, ESPN

"For a team that wants to win right away, but still has some rebuilding that needs to be done, Tomas is essentially the perfect fit. He's young, he should be ready to make a quick impact, and he can be built around without his contract hampering the payroll too much. On day one, this looks like a winner for Stewart, but the next 2,190 days will tell us a lot more. "
-- Mark Townsend, Yahoo!

"Cuban free agents have proven to be remarkable bargains of late. The opt-out will serve to make this one less of a bargain, most likely, but it still seems like a reasonable risk for the Diamondbacks to take. $11 million per year for right-handed power might quickly look like a bargain if the rest of the skillset is even reasonably passable."
-- Dave Cameron, Fangraphs

"The likeliest course, perhaps, is a continuation of what the team has done thus far. Adding pitching will undoubtedly remain a focus, with Arizona possibly looking to deal from its outfield and middle infield surplus as a means of doing so. Before accounting for Tomas and Hellickson, the team’s 2015 payroll was over $20MM shy of last year’s team-record (assuming that all arb-eligible players are tendered). But now there may not be a ton of room to add current-year spending, given reports that the team is expected to spend somewhat less than last year."
-- Jeff Todd, MLBTR

"Tomas has 30-homer upside as a big-leaguer. He likely won't be better than average at anything else, but if you're going to have only one skill, then power makes for a marketable choice. In his five seasons playing in Cuba's Serie Nacional, Tomas batted .290/.345/.504, and those strong overall numbers are dragged down by his outputs as a 17- and 18-year-old. Let's also keep in mind that Jose Abreu's hitting skills were solidly underestimated prior to his making the jump to the United States."
-- Dayn Perry, CBS Sports

"Yasmany Tomas is not a DH. He's a big guy, but he moves much better than you'd think from his body type. And plenty of arm for right field."
-- Ben Badler, Baseball America on Twitter

"According to some in the know Yasmany Tomas can have issues with quality breaking stuff, so one good player comp would be literally everyone."
-- Jeff Sullivan, Fangraphs on Twitter

"Making such a large commitment to Tomas is a sign that the D-backs believe they can keep pace with the World Series champion Giants and Dodgers in the National League West... When the D-backs go to camp in February, Tomas will be the story. If they can keep up with the Giants and Dodgers next summer, he could be one of the biggest stories in baseball. This is a signing for dreamers, and those are the best kind."
-- Phil Rogers, MLB