In 2013, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig became an overnight sensation. Puig batted .319 with 19 home runs and 42 home runs in during 104 games that year. Puig would take second place in the National League Rookie of the Year while helping the Dodgers win the N.L. West. The future appeared to be super bright for Puig as he was on track to be Major League Baseball’s next phenomenal five-tool star. But the only person who has yet to receive that message is Puig.
Yasiel Puig
Since 2013, Puig has been enigmatic to say the least as he has clashed with teammates and coaches alike. Puig’s numbers have dipped in each year since then while he is no stranger to taking plays off. This year in 81 games with the Dodgers, Puig is batting .260 with 7 homers and 34 runs batted in. And being that Puig has become more troublesome than helpful to the Dodgers, he was demoted last week by the club to their Triple-A affiliate in the Oklahoma City Dodgers. This move was made after the Dodgers were unable to find a trade partner to take on Puig as no team in Major League Baseball wants to deal with him and the headaches that he can cause. And because of that you have ask yourself where have things gone wrong for Puig?
Puig has all of the talent in the world, but his real issue is between his ears, as nobody has been able to get through to him. Since being demoted, Puig posted a video on social media of himself partying after a loss as the time in the minors has yet to humble him. Puig is under contract with the Dodgers through 2018, but being that his contract is very manageable as he is only scheduled to earn a combined $14 million through 2018, I would not be surprised to see the organization simply release him in the off-season and eat the remainder of the money that is owed to him.
I don’t know what it is going to take to get through to Puig as even if it isn’t working out for him with the Dodgers, he is still hurting his chances to latch on to another team as front office executives around Major League Baseball view him as a locker room cancer. Puig is only 25-years of age, and there is time for him to still figure it out. But it is truly a shame that someone as talented as him is merely wasting a golden opportunity that some people would be willing to die for.
Source: Baseball-reference.com
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