One of the more enigmatic players in the entire MLB, Yasiel Puig has made a career out of his quirky mannerisms, cocky playing style and the flair for drama and performing excellently in the clutch. While these events all occurred while in the bright lights and drama of Los Angeles while with the Dodgers, he now sits in dreary Ohio as a starting right fielder for the Cincinnati Reds.
Coming over in an offseason deal that saw the likes of Alex Wood, Matt Kemp, Kyle Farmer and Puig all turn in their Vin Scully entrances for the big red machine, the Reds and Dodgers made one of the bigger deals in the offseason, swapping big salaries while the Reds gave up two of their 30 best prospects in their farm system, a questionable move to say the least for a team that is at least two years away from competing.
What this move looked like for some players was a chance at a fresh start, giving players who have played in the lights and spotlight of California a chance to breathe, as well as a potential chance to make up ground on who they had become as a baseball player, better their stock and force themselves onto another team when the trade deadline came around, or when the Reds realized they were not going to be competing for the playoffs this year, whichever came first.
Puig was an excellent candidate for this situation, as he was going to be getting a lot of playing time in Cincinnati, providing himself with the golden opportunity to raise his level of play up to what endeared himself to Dodgers fans, get him to look more appetizing to other teams and potentially make it so he is playing on a team that is contending for a World Series title come August.
While all in a perfect world, things do not seem to commonly work out for Puig and the team that currently has his services, which is exactly what 2019 has meant for both Puig and the Reds. Falling behind in expected fashion in the division race, the Reds are slowly realizing that their window to compete this season was never open, locked from the outside with no way to get the key.
For Puig, that revelation is perfect news, seeming that his play dictates he gets moved for a slew of farm prospects that can help the Reds down the road when they are ready to compete. Except Puig is not playing at that level, not really even close to be completely honest.
Sporting a dreadful .200 average, Puig’s strikeout numbers are more than six times the amount of home runs he has hit so far, 26 K’s to 4 long balls. Combined with four paltry walks across 95 at-bats, and this is a recipe for a low return package for the Reds to move Puig. His personality seems to be in check though with the TV lights not in his face every night, which is a key part in making sure that Puig as a person is able to improve.
On the final year of his contract, Puig has the potential to be one of the hotter names in the trade market on the second level of available players, putting him in the building of players that will make a difference in September and October but will not cost an arm and a leg for teams looking to get his services.
To boost his value, however, his offense truly needs to improve. Albeit early on in the season, Puig has consistently topped .260 every season but one at year’s end, and if he continues on this track, he will have a hard time getting enough playing time to be able to attempt to boost that average back up to where it needs to be.
Suffice to say, Puig’s impact on a team is definitely a storyline to follow; thankfully, his 2019 season has been noteworthy due to his on-field performance rather than his off the diamond extracurriculars, which shows that he has grown as a person, which is ultimately much more important than his performance as an athlete.
If both the Reds and Puig are looking to go their separate ways come July, then the team has got to hope that Puig is able to figure it out and make sure that his numbers get bumped up; otherwise, he could be forced to stay on this team and see the rest of the final year of his current deal out playing in Ohio.
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