SAN FRANCISCO – Cuban outfielder Dian Toscano has finally arrived and begun working out at the Braves’ training site outside Orlando, Fla., though he still hasn’t been cleared to begin playing.
A Braves official said once Toscano’s paperwork is cleared, the Braves could send him to a minor league affiliate, but there’s no timetable yet.
Toscano, 26, signed a four-year, $6 million free-agent contract with the Braves in December, and the delays commenced including issues with his paperwork and people he had helping him get to the United States. The contract wasn’t official until Jan. 28, and at that point the Braves were still hopeful of having him at spring training.
Four months later, they’ve at least got him in camp.
Toscano, 5 feet 11 and about 210 pounds, hits and throws left-handed and projects as a backup who can play left and center field, but probably doesn’t have the desirable arm strength for right field, according to some scouts. He has a line-drive swing that doesn’t produce an abundance of home runs.
Toscano hit .356 with a .440 on-base percentage and a .452 slugging percentage during the 2012-13 season, when he played for Villa Clara in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, the nation’s premier league. In parts of five seasons in the league, he had a .300 average and .396 OBP with seven triples and 13 homers in 614 at-bats.
