Report: D-backs land Yasmany Tomas

A first-year general manager appears to have landed baseball’s next big Cuban import. He just doesn’t work for the Padres.

The NL West rival Diamondbacks have agreed to a six-year, $68.5 million deal with the 24-year-old Tomas, MLB.com reported Wednesday afternoon. A late player in the Tomas market, Arizona has yet to confirm an agreement would knock a second offseason target off the Padres’ board in the last three days.

A source told U-T San Diego earlier this week that Pablo Sandoval had an offer for over $100 million from the Padres in hand when he opted to sign a five-year, $95 million deal with the Red Sox. The Padres weren’t believed to have the highest bid in on Tomas – a right-handed, power-hitting outfielder – but had emerged as a frontrunner after scouting several of his workouts since September, including two private sessions.

After visiting with Sandoval’s agent on Friday in Miami, first-year Padres General Manager A.J. Preller flew to the Dominican Republic over the weekend to meet with Tomas’ agent, Jay Alou.

Preller could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday evening.

Tomas was said to be mulling offers from the Padres, Giants, Braves and Diamondbacks, according to MLB.com. While the details of each offer were not known, Tomas’ agent was ready to sign as soon as a team hit his target in dollars, a source told U-T San Diego.

New Diamondbacks G.M. Dave Stewart apparently did just that, landing a potential middle-of-the-order hitter to slot somewhere between All-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and power-hitting outfielder Mark Trumbo for an annual average salary of $11.4 million. Tomas’ deal, pending a physical, reportedly includes an opt-out clause after four years.

A 24-year-old outfielder who hit 30 homers in 205 regular season games in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, Tomas was believed to be initially seeking at least $15 million per year over at least five years and perhaps as much as a $100 million contract.

Instead, Tomas’ deal sneaks in behind Rusney Castillo’s seven-year, $72.5 million deal with the Red Sox over the summer and slightly ahead of AL Rookie of the Year Jose Abreu’s six-year, $68 million contract with the White Sox last year.

The Padres, meanwhile, have struck out on the pursuit of their top two options to boost baseball’s worst offense.

While several targets remain on the free agent market, draft pick compensation tied to the biggest names – like Nelson Cruz and Melky Cabrera – will likely force the Padres to continue fishing with the wide net they’ve cast in the trade market.

“Picks are valuable; there’s no way around it,” Preller told U-T San Diego recently.

Among the names the Padres have reportedly been connected to in trade talks is Reds outfielder Jay Bruce, Red Sox outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp and Braves outfielder Justin Upton.