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Countdown to Arizona Diamondbacks Opening Day: D-13, Yasmany Tomas

Although his Opening Day availability is looking increasingly dubious.

By Jim McLennan
MLB: Arizona Diamondbacks-Media Day Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

We asked you to rank the 40-man roster along with the 16 non-roster invitees to spring training, and every day between now and the eve of Opening Day, we’ll have a profile of one of those Diamondbacks.

D minus 13: Yasmany Tomas

  • Date of birth: November 14, 1990
  • Ht/Wt: 6’2”, 250 lbs
  • Position: Outfielder
  • Status: 40-man roster
  • Bats/Throws: R/R
  • 2016 MLB numbers: 140 games, 563 PA, .272/.313/.508, 31 HR, 83 RBI
  • SnakePit Rating: 5.90

If only we could have combined Jake Lamb’s first-half performance in 2016 with Yasmany Tomas’s second-half, we would have had a monster. That would have been a .292 batter with 37 home-runs and 105 driven in, possessing an OPS around .950. But at least for Tomas, there’s hope that he can carry forward the strong numbers after the break into his 2017 campaign. Because, to be honest, those are likely going to be needed if there is to be any hope of the six year, $68.5 million contract not becoming an albatross around Arizona’s neck going forward. The Tomas we saw in the first half, with an on-base percentage below .300 combined with woeful defense, won’t cut it.

Now, we have another issue with which to contend: an oblique strain which has kept Tomas out of game action since March 8. It’s possible that this injury may have been a factor in his woeful spring campaign: including that final game against Mexico, Yasmany had gone 0-for-20 this preseason. But as shoewizard mentioned, it is the kind of problem from which hitters have a tendency to try and come back too soon. At least the team does have better outfield depth this spring, with Jeremy Hazelbaker perhaps providing the most obvious alternative to Tomas in terms of production profile. We certainly shouldn’t have to convert middle infielders this Opening Day.

The team is still hopeful he can be ready, however. The last update from Torey Lovullo, on Thursday, said they were 4-6 days away from reevaluating him, so we should know more this week. But with only 7-10 days at that point left before the first game of the season, it would seem increasingly tight in terms of getting him the necessary number of reps to be fully game-ready. If it takes an extra week, it takes an extra week: I’d rather err on the side of caution, because regardless of whether we’re looking to play Tomas or trade him, anything less than 100% health seems counter-productive.

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