The Dodgers were trying to trade Puig before the non-waiver trading deadline Monday but couldn’t find a deal. The Dodgers are likely fed up with Puig for reasons that go beyond his statistics – you can’t throw a rock without hitting an accusation or insinuation about his makeup – but while he’s there, they might as well make the most of him.
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Puig expressed his desire to remain with the Dodgers on Sunday, but he acknowledged the situation is beyond his control, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, generally an excellent reporter not prone to sensationalism, heard from a source that Puig “stormed off” upon learning he would either be traded or demoted. But Puig’s agent corrected Rosenthal, telling him that Puig already knew not to arrive for the team’s road trip to play the Rockies on Monday and so there was no reason from his client to storm off. “I believe he and his representation understand what we’re hoping happens moving forward”.
Although Puig wasn’t traded ahead of yesterday’s deadline, the Dodgers’ acquisition of southpaw Rich Hill and right fielder Josh Reddick from the A’s all but confirmed Puig’s imminent demotion. The Puig-Mattingly relationship went sour and the team’s acceptance of him went rocky. Puig’s power numbers are hovering below their levels at this point in previous years. Puig has been an interesting story since he came to the league, and it looks like it’s going to stay that way. He’s hitting just.260 in his last 81 games with just seven home runs and 34 runs batted in.
Yasiel Puig had a very promising start to his Major League Baseball career in 2013 and 2014 but injuries, struggles from the plate and off-the-field issues took their toll in the past couple of seasons. Other than Puig, the few players listed above won’t really kill their teams by keeping them a little longer, although they would have benefited by getting at least some talent in return since all are below the qualifying offer threshold.
Since bursting onto the scene with a.925 OPS as a rookie in 2013, Puig’s production has declined each season.
Los Angeles picked up Josh Reddick from Oakland on Monday, possibly squeezing the oft-injured, struggling Puig out of a job in right field.
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This is a problem of the Dodgers’ own making, as they told Puig that he would either be traded or demoted on August 1.
