Phillies meet with Yasmany Tomas' agent

Yasmany Tomas does not turn 24 until next week.

So he's younger than Cody Asche, Freddy Galvis and Cesar Hernandez, three players continuing to develop in Phillies uniforms. He's just 22 months older than Maikel Franco.

"Yasmany is working on things," said Jay Alou, Tomas' agent. "He's very methodical. Working on his swing.Working on things. He's a perfectionist when it comes to that. He had had some swing-and-miss tendencies which he has now corrected. Right now, maybe in the last two weeks, the way he's progressed is unbelievable. He's really not missing anything right now."

Tomas, perhaps the biggest bat on the free agent market, has been linked to the Phillies for obvious reasons. The Cuban defector is a power hitting corner outfielder; with poor production from their current outfield and almost no help coming any time soon from the farm system, the Phillies are in desperate need for a young, power hitting outfielder.

On Monday morning, the first day of the General Managers meetings, Alou met with Phils GM Ruben Amaro Jr. inside the Arizona Biltmore.

No formal offer has been made by the Phillies.

"Still talking," Alou said. "Still talking."

According to Alou, the Phillies have seen Tomas in person three times. There was a formal workout for all interested teams in September, then the Phillies saw him two other times, including when Amaro himself flew to the Dominican Republic where the Phillies had their own private workout with the outfielder in late September.

Alou characterized the overall negotiations between his client and major league teams as "slower than I thought, but steady."

With the success of other Cuban free agent hitters in recent years - including Jose Abreu and Yasiel Puig - Tomas is expected to capitalize on the open market. Several reports have estimated the price tag could reach $100 million; in August, the Red Sox signed Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo to a 7-year, $72.5 million deal.

Tomas is three years younger than Castillo, and unlike Castillo, his top skill set is power, not speed.

"I really don't know where that came from," Alou said of $100 million rumors. "But, hey, I'd be happy. He'd be happy, I'd be happy."

Is that his worth, though?

"I say, whatever a team is willing to pay is what a guy is worth," Alou said. "You can't put a price tag on… you can put a price tag on a cellphone or a Mercedes. There's no price tag on him."

Alou wouldn't comment on whether other teams have made formal offers to his client. But he does expect an official offer from the Phillies before long.

"I mean, they owe it to the fans, right?" Alou said. "It's going to all get going here soon."

And then Alou let his mind wander and did what agents do best: he began to sell his client to all of the ears of Philadelphia that were willing to listen on Monday afternoon in the lobby of the Biltmore.

"There are a lot of hitters who, to generate power, they've got to pull the ball," he said. "They've got to open their hips to generate power. He's so powerful he can afford to just let the ball travel deep. And then, when he hits them, no matter whether it's to right field or center field. He punishes them.

"I haven't seen anyone - and I represent Jose Bautista, he hits a lot of home runs - I've never seen anybody hit a ball this far. (Tomas) is actually taking batting practice in a big old stadium in the Dominican, where teams from the capital play. It's a big stadium. It's 411 (feet to) to center. And he was hitting the big screen above the center field wall."

So you're talking Giancarlo Stanton-type power?

Alou didn't answer. Instead his eyes grew wide and he gave a confident, affirmative nod.

Get the full High Cheese experience at PhillyDailyNews.com.