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Are Phillies backing off Cuban prospect Yasmani Tomas?

Cuban slugger Yasmani Tomas will attend MLB's Winter Meetings in San Diego this December.

After theories that 24-year-old Cuban slugger Yasmani Tomas was on his way to the States to make a deal, the tension was palpable. "Imminent," they called his decision.

With whom would he be signing? One of the many dark horse candidates - the Padres, Cubs, or Royals? The Giants wanted to convert him from an outfielder to a third baseman for some reason. Then, there's the Phillies, a big market team with money and needs everywhere.

Days passed. Tomas' 24th birthday came and went. It turned out, the whole report was wrong. Tomas was in the Dominican Republic and teams were coming to see him; and he was showcasing his talents at multiple positions. The Phillies had seen him enough already, and the prospect has now sat back and let the demand for him develop.

They'll get another chance to talk to Tomas this December, as he does not appear to be so close to a deal that he'll skip Major League Baseball's Winter Meetings in San Diego. Tomas will be in attendance, along with representatives from all 30 MLB teams and 160 MiLB teams, and will instantly become one of the more compelling narratives.

The Padres are rumored to be gearing up for a big, splashy move, but the Phillies have reportedly pulled back from their initial interest in Tomas. According to Paul Hagen, the Phillies have "cooled" on pursuing the prospect, indicating that Tomas' price tag is skyrocketing. Should it begin to descend, Hagen says, the team could re-enter the fracas. Needless to say, without Tomas, one of the major narrative threads heading into the first half of the Phillies offseason would come to an abrupt end.