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The Arizona Diamondbacks recalled outfielder Yasmany Tomás from Triple-A Reno and optioned right-handed pitcher A.J. Schugel, as announced by D-backs Sr. Vice President & General Manager Dave Stewart. Tomás, 24, signed with Arizona as a free agent on Dec. 8 after spending the previous 5 seasons with Industriales in the Cuban Serie Nacional. He has appeared in 5 games with Reno and collected a double, home run and 3 RBI. Tomás, who played with Cuba in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, entered 2015 ranked by Baseball America as the D-backs' No. 4 Prospect (57th overall) and the Best Power Hitter. He will wear No. 24 in his Major League debut.
-- Official announcement
This does come as a bit of a surprise, and one wonders what may have happened in the relatively brief time-span between Tomas being declared as not ready for the major leagues. Indeed, lless than a week ago, Chip Hale was stating that, "We need him to get a little bit more fit." Indeed, it seemed to be the official version that it was a question of there not being enough playing time to go around. Hale said, "What we’re trying to do is figure out a way to create at-bats for him, which is primarily the reason he didn’t stay. If we had more at-bats and could get him more playing time, he’d be here."
Where those at-bats and playing time are going to come from, remains to be seen. Might there be another roster move on the horizon, either an undisclosed disabled list stint, or perhaps a trade that might free up some outfield time for Tomas? That's about the only way I can figure it, since Jake Lamb has been tearing it up out of the gate, so between him and getting Aaron Hill in there, third base does not seem a viable option. Meanwhile, A.J. Schugel, we hardly knew you. He made his Major League debut on April 12 vs. Dodgers, allowing two ER in three innings of work, and is now on the bus back to Reno.