Diamondbacks land Cuban Yasmany Tomas on six-year, $68.5M deal

The pursuit of free agent outfielder Yasmany Tomas took a quick and stunning turn on Wednesday. Expected to become the richest Cuban defector to date, with a $100 million contract seemingly within reason, Tomas agreed on a six-year, $68 million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks, according to a report from MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez. Though he'll earn a higher yearly average, Tomas' deal falls short of Rusney Castillo's seven-year, $72.5 million deal with the Boston Red Sox, which ultimately topped deals signed by Yasiel Puig, Yoenis Cespedes and Jose Abreu. Castillo's deal was viewed by many as a starting point for Tomas in terms of total money, but apparently the market didn't develop as envisioned. In the other surprising twist, Arizona was only viewed as a periphery player at best in the Tomas sweepstakes as recently as Wednesday afternoon. New D-Backs general manager Dave Stewart discussed his interest with Zach Buchanan of the Arizona Republic earlier in the day, stating that no formal offer had been issued, though both sides understood what the other was looking for. Stewart isn't sure how competitive the Dbacks are in this derby, though. Said he's unaware of what other...