Cuban slugger Yasmani Tomas defects

Ben Badler of Baseball America reports that the next big-time Cuban free agent will be coming to Major League Baseball soon:

Yasmani Tomas, one of the top young power hitters in Cuba and a member of the national team, has left the island to pursue a contract with a major league team, Baseball America has learned. The Cuban newspaper Granma also confirmed that Tomas had left the country.

First he has to establish residency in another country -- if he comes to the U.S. he’s subject to the draft -- and jump through all of the diplomatic paperwork. The example of past Cuban defectors suggests that the process will last long enough to where Tomas is unlikely to sign until late this year or early next year.

As for the baseball: Tomas is only 23-years-old, yet has starred for the Cuban national team already and debuted in Cuba’s top league when he was only 17. He established himself as a regular in 2011, when he as 21. He hit .301/.333/.580 with 16 homers in 69 games that season and went on to play in the World Baseball Classic last year. He was 6-for-16 with two home runs, one double, one walk and four strikeouts in the WBC.

In regular season play he has been up and down of late due to some injuries, but he’s got extraordinary power. He’s primarily a corner outfielder.