Yasiel Puig on possibility of getting traded by Dodgers: ‘I’ll play anywhere’
For as bad a rep as he’s gotten over the past few years, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig seems to be responding in the best possible fashion to rumors that he might be shipped to another team before Friday’s non-waiver trade deadline.
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No petulance, no whining, no fits. Puig doesn’t want to leave the Dodgers if he had the the choice, but told Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times:
“I’ll play anywhere,” Puig said. “I came to the United States [from Cuba] to play baseball. Baseball is the same anywhere. If they want to trade me, that’s their decision. I can’t do anything about that.”
The latest chatter in the trade world is that the Dodgers have let other teams know that Puig “is available in the right deal,” according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Of course, anybody’s available in the right deal, if you really think about.
The Dodgers do have an outfield surplus and a pitching need. If they can deal Puig to the Philadelphia Phillies and get Cole Hamels in return or to the Detroit Tigers and get a package that includes David Price, that’s at least something the front office has to consider.
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Pulling the plug on a Puig deal might be tough for L.A., though, considering his contract is very team-friendly and he’s still just 24. Puig is making $4.5 million this season and a total of $19.5 million in the three following years. Plus, we’ve seen what kind of spark plug he can be. We’ve seen also seen how polarizing he can be in the clubhouse. Any trade at this point would be a sell-low deal, considering Puig has been injured and not as productive as usual.
Puig, again to his credit, is saying the right things. He also told the L.A. Times:
“Players never want to be traded from their first team,” he said. “But that’s not our decision.”
Puig raised the example of Dee Gordon, the All-Star second baseman who was traded to the Miami Marlins over the winter.
“Dee Gordon didn’t want to be traded from here and they traded him,” he said.
Puig said that if he is traded, he would like to respond the way Gordon did. Gordon, who was sidelined by a thumb injury earlier this month, is second in the National League with a .338 batting average.
The Dodgers sending Puig away? It seems a far-fetched in theory, but hey, this is MLB trade deadline week, we’re used to being shocked.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
