Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Yasmany Tomas was arrested Thursday in Arizona for reckless driving and criminal speeding, after allegedly driving 105 mph on Loop 101 in Tempe.
Here’s more on the story, from AZ Central:
Tomas was pulled over in a 2015 black Mercedes S550 coupe on the Loop 101 northbound at Baseline Road by a DPS motorcycle trooper at 9:25 a.m., DPS said.
Tomas was arrested and booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail in Phoenix, DPS said.
Tomas’ car was impounded, officials added.
The Diamondbacks released a statement about the news:
“We are very disappointed to learn of this news. We are still gathering facts, and will refrain from further comment at this time as this is a pending legal matter.”
It seems unlikely that Tomas, 27, will be suspended, but that’s probably about the least of the Diamondbacks’ concerns here.
After signing a six-year, $68.5 million deal with the Diamondbacks out of Cuba in 2014, Tomas has been a bust. His offensive production has been decent, with 48 homers and a .769 OPS over his three seasons, but he needs to hit *a lot* to have any value. That’s because his defense is very bad, and in the corner outfield (left and right field); most every corner outfielder is a productive hitter. Use Tomas’ 2016 season as a perfect example: he hit 31 homers, had an .820 OPS… and was worth negative-0.4 WAR — and negative-2.2 over the three seasons — because of how awful his defensive value was (he was worth negative-16 defensive runs saved).
And the worst part of Tomas’ contract is that the biggest dollars are still to come. He’s owed $13.5 million in 2018, $15.5 million in 2019, and $17 million in 2020. The Diamondbacks have had some hope of trading Tomas, but it’s hard to imagine any team wanting anything to do with this contract, and especially now that the guy was just arrested.
So, a bad contract continues to only get worse for the Diamondbacks, and they’re probably stuck with it for three more years.