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UPDATE: Tomas cleared waivers and was sent to Triple-A on Monday, per the team. He’s no longer on the 40-man roster.
ORIGINAL: The Diamondbacks have placed Yasmany Tomas on outright waivers, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
Coming into the 2015 season, Tomas inked a six-year deal worth $68.5-million, making him one of the highest paid phenoms to come out of Cuba. Unfortunately, Tomas has disappointed since coming to the MLB with a career .268/.294/.462 slash line. Tomas did have a solid 2016 season with 31 homers and 83 RBIs to go along with a .272/.313/.508 line.
Being placed on outright waivers, all 29 MLB teams will have the opportunity to claim him. But with roughly $46 million still owed to Tomas, it is likely that he goes unclaimed. From there, Tomas will be sent to the minor leagues, or he could refuse an assignment and elect to hit the free agent market due to his three years of MLB experience. However, Tomas probably would not do that, because of the amount of money he is still owed. It is doubtful he would pull a contract worth more than $46-million on the open market at this point.
For now, Arizona will roll with four outfielders A.J. Pollock, Jarrod Dyson, David Peralta, and Chris Owings. That will put Tomas in the minors until further notice, and he could be there for the foreseeable future.