Los Angeles Dodgers' chairman Mark Walter spoke with Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times last week about outfielder Yasiel Puig. The 24-year-old has only 20 home runs and 87 RBIs in his last 194 games, but Walter said he "wouldn't give up on him now."
Is that really up to him?
It could be, but the team's ownership hired a brand new front office this past offseason and has allowed them to make a flurry of moves that contradicted the ways of previous management. Puig's signing was not under the current regime led by president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Farhan Zaidi, so is it possible Puig is not in their long-term plans?
"The noise is growing louder on Puig and his low favorability among teammates, according to a major league source," Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wrote over the weekend. "The Dodgers were able to purge their team of Hanley Ramirez and Matt Kemp and are better for it. Is Puig next? Where Puig used to be untouchable because of his tremendous ability, the Dodgers don't seem to feel that way now. Would they move him for a pitcher? And would the Phillies take him in a Cole Hamels package?"
Woah. Trading him before the deadline?! That might be a bit drastic.
After one of the most electrifying rookie seasons in recent memory, Puig has certainly cooled down. However, he has only played in 46 games this year due to a hamstring injury and likely needs more time to find his rhythm. But he also only has 2 home runs and 14 RBIs since his return on June 6 (35 games).
It's more realistic the Dodgers give Puig more time before exploring options on the trade market - if that's something they were to ever even consider. After all, Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford do not make up the future of the team's outfield and they're not easy contracts to move.
"It will be interesting to see if the Dodgers' thinking on the 24-year-old Puig evolves, because it's not clear that he fits their context, in which success will be measured not by reaching the postseason, but by winning in the postseason and bringing home the team's first championship since 1988," ESPN Insider Buster Olney wrote over the weekend.
"It's not enough to merely play in October; the Dodgers need to play well in October, and a free-swinger such as Puig, who has struggled to make adjustments at-bat to at-bat, may not fit that.
"Puig had an excellent NL Division Series against the Braves in 2013, going 8-for-17, but in his next two October series -- 2013 NLCS and 2014 NLDS, both against the Cardinals -- he was shut down, striking out in 18 of 36 at-bats and batting .222. He had eight strikeouts in 12 at-bats against St. Louis in the division series last year, as the Cardinals' pitchers executed their game plan against him, working off a sort of well-defined scouting report that is commonplace in a postseason series."
Puig is under a team-friendly contract (he'll make $24,642,000 from 2016-2018) and has the talent to provide a good return in any deal. During a time when the Dodgers are in dire need of starting pitching and could be in even worse shape by the offseason if Zack Greinke opts out, Puig looks like a candidate the Dodgers could dangle to reel in a good arm or two.
Earlier in the year FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal said Friedman was open to considering deals for any player. If Los Angeles falters in the postseason again this year and Puig fails to perform, it's possible the Dodgers look to bolster other aspects of their roster by entertaining deals for the youngster.
Moving him before the deadline seems too soon because his value probably isn't as high as it should be given his cumulative performance since last year's All-Star break. And trading him for Hamels? Swapping Puig's bargain contract for a 31-year-old pitcher whose deal could pay him a maximum of $91.5 million from 2016-2019 doesn't exactly seem like a move that keeps an eye on the future.
Given all the circumstances that surround the Dodgers as well as Puig, any trade scenario cannot be ruled out. It's likely all dependent on what the team accomplishes and how Puig contributes between now and November.
