Nick Piecoro

azcentral sports

Yasmany Tomas speaks English about as well as Nate Shaw speaks Spanish – that is, not well. But throughout the offseason, the Diamondbacks left fielder and the team’s strength and conditioning coordinator would get together, sometimes three days a week, sometimes five days, and they would do anything and everything, so long as they were staying active.

There was jumping rope, boxing, cross-training. They would run in sand, play football, hike the San Tan Mountains.

“We couldn’t understand each other,” Tomas said through translator Ariel Prieto, “but we had a lot of fun.”

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They also say they saw real results. In a year in which he could arguably be one of the Diamondbacks’ most pivotal players, Tomas enters camp having lost 10 pounds, he said, adding that he’s better prepared to endure the rigors of a six-month season.

Tomas is still big-bodied and thick – this is a player who arrived from Cuba with the nickname “El Tanque” (“The Tank”) – but he says he is stronger and more agile.

“I feel more athletic,” Tomas said, “and I feel like I have more power in my legs and more explosion in my body.”

Shaw agreed: “He got a lot stronger, faster. His cardiovascular shape is really good.”

Other things about the Diamondbacks’ $68.5 million slugger seem different, too. During his first official workout last year, Tomas looked tentative and nervous, like he could sense everyone critiquing his every move.

During this year’s first full squad workout on Tuesday morning, Tomas looked comfortable and relaxed, at one point laughing with Prieto between drills.

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“Last year, he was all shy,” Diamondbacks right fielder David Peralta said. “He wouldn’t talk too much with anybody. I always say we’re family and now he feels part of the family. He’s feeling better. And he’s trying to learn English, too.”

The language barrier was a constant impediment for Tomas and Shaw during their offseason workouts, but Shaw said the two had fun trying to figure out what the other was saying. He laughed as he recalled trying to distinguish between a big truck (camion) and a pickup truck (camioneta).

“We’d try not to go to Google Translate,” Shaw said. “We’d try to figure it out first.”

Tomas remained in town throughout the offseason, and from mid-October through January he and Shaw were regular companions in the Southeast Valley.

“It was a challenge,” Shaw said. “He wanted to work. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t have direction.”

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That’s where Shaw came in, helping Tomas better understand nutrition, getting him a heart-rate monitor and trying to educate him on physical fitness.

“There’s a lot of things you can do that are right and a lot of things you can do that are wrong,” Shaw said. “It’s a credit to him to kind of being selective about what he does.”

Tomas had good first-half results last season, but his production faded as the year wore on, his average dropping and his strikeouts spiking. He eventually found himself in a fourth outfielder’s role.

But with outfielder Ender Inciarte traded to Atlanta, the Diamondbacks will be relying more heavily on Tomas, hoping he can develop into the middle-of-the-order bat they believed he could be when they signed him.

Tomas says he’s ready, and he said he has sensed the club’s commitment to him.

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“Everybody has pushed me a lot about the way I have to work to be ready for this year,” Tomas said. “I feel a lot better. I’ve prepared myself better. I know a little bit more now about how the season is going to be. I feel a lot more comfortable.”

Said Peralta: “He looks really good, he’s in shape, everything. I’m pretty excited about him. I can’t wait to see him playing in real games.”

Reach Piecoro at 602-444-8680 or nick.piecoro@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.