Baseball researcher: Yasmany Tomas projected to be 4th-worst defender in MLB

When the Arizona Diamondbacks signed Cuban outfielder Yasmany Tomas to a six-year, $68.5 million contract in 2014, they were hoping he would turn into a premier power hitter.

He took a big step toward that goal last season, batting .272 with 31 home runs and 83 RBI. But he has yet to improve upon his defense.

In fact, Tomas is in line to again be one of the worst defenders in the league this season. Scott Spratt, a research associate for Baseball Info Solutions and special to ESPN, projects he will have the fourth-fewest defensive runs saved at a minus-11.

The hopefully healthy return of A.J. Pollock should help the Diamondbacks recapture some of their former defensive glory in the outfield, but Tomas is the one weak link. Given his size at 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds, you may not be surprised that he’s a subpar defender. However, his range isn’t the issue. Instead, Tomas cost the D-backs eight runs with his throwing arm in the corner outfield spots last year. In left field, he allowed baserunners to take an extra base 8.7 percent more often than an average player; in right, it was 8.4 percent more often.

Defensive runs saved (DRS) is an advanced statistic that attempts to quantify the number of runs a player allows or saves compared to an average defensive player. A positive number is above average, while a negative number is below average.

Tomas, who has been sidelined much of spring with an oblique injury but is listed in Sunday’s lineup for the first time since March 6, finished last season with a minus-16 DRS.

That is considered “awful,” according to FanGraphs. This mark was sixth-worst among outfielders, behind Andrew McCutchen (minus-28), J.D. Martinez (minus-22), Robbie Grossman and Matt Kemp (minus-21) , and Tyler Naquin (both minus-18).

The 26-year-old Tomas started 80 games in right field and 51 in left last season, and he performed equally poorly at both with a minus-eight DRS combined.

Tomas’s defense was so poor last year that his DRS overshadowed his 12.4 weighted runs above average, which looks to calculate the number of offensive runs a player contributes compared to an average offensive player.

His defensive deficiencies are a big reason why he is viewed by some as having one of MLB’s worst contracts.

Tomas has had issues defensively since coming over from Cuba, as he had a minus-10 DRS in his first season in MLB in 2015, which is considered “poor.”

The only players projected to have a lower DRS than him are Kemp (minus-17), Detroit Tigers third baseman Nick Castellanos (minus-16) and Naquin (minus-12).