8:25pm: The Giants expect to be contenders to sign Puig when the league lifts its transaction freeze Friday, Jim Bowden of The Athletic tweets. They were connected to Puig on multiple occasions over the winter.
11:01am: Prior to their deal with former Cubs shortstop Addison Russell, the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization spoke to outfielder Yasiel Puig about a potential deal for the 2020 season, Heroes GM Kim Chi-hyun tells Jee-ho of the Yonhap News Agency (Twitter link). Ultimately, Puig’s preference was to take another shot at latching on with a Major League team once play resumes.
As entertaining as it might’ve been to see what type of numbers Puig could post in the KBO (to say nothing of the bat flips he might unleash), it’s not much of a surprise that he prefers to wait to see what type of interest he might garner on a big league deal at this point. Puig doesn’t appear to have been thrilled with the offers he received over the winter and surely won’t find a better deal now amid enormous revenue losses throughout MLB, but there’s plenty of reason to think he might yet find his way onto a roster.
Not only are teams are expected to expand active rosters to 30 players — plus a taxi squad of up to perhaps 20 players — but the universal DH is expected to be implemented for the 2020 season. That’s not to say that Puig is a poor fielder or prime DH candidate. To the contrary, he graded out as an average right fielder in 2019 and has a track record of above average performances. But the added bat to each lineup of the 15 NL clubs still makes it easier for any of them to justify signing him, whether to serve as a primary DH, to push a lesser defensive outfielder into a DH role or simply to add him to a corner outfield/DH rotation. The truncated 60-game schedule might give some clubs hope of fielding a competitive club under an “anything can happen” mentality.
Financially speaking, Puig it doesn’t seem likely that Puig would field particularly lucrative offers once the transaction freeze is lifted. That said, he might still stand to earn more than he would’ve in the KBO, where the maximum salary for a first-year foreign player is $1MM (and where he’d be playing on a prorated deal as well, since the season is already underway). Plus, in order to sign with the Heroes or any other KBO team, he’d have had to complete a mandatory 14-day quarantine upon arriving in South Korea. At this point, assuming MLB is actually able to begin play on July 24-26 as hoped, the timeline for Puig to get into an MLB game and the timeline to get into a KBO game might not be all that different.
Would you want Puig on your team?? I would fear he would not follow covid protocol and infect the team
I guarantee that baseball will have a snitch line like the nba will have. It will be a tip line on what players are breaking protocol so they can be disciplined
Depends… is licking your bat against protocol?
Lol underrated comment
Depends on where it’s been and if you can reach it…
How about kissing your batting coach? XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ask David Ross if what he was doing as a player in 2016 will be a violation of protocol in 2020, there’s your answer
Puig has underperformed for years. He should have been hitting 40+ homers a year with his body size. Terribly overrated.
I wouldn’t mind him on my team. He’s an above average hitter and he really shines in the postseason.
He shines in the post season? What does that mean? Is he suddenly more talented in the playoffs? I don’t think that’s a thing.
.280 batting averages over 180 postseason at bats isn’t exactly shining in my book.
Have you heard of Reggie Jackson? Being a great postseason performer is a real thing, some people absolutely shine under insane pressure, I cannot remember any Puig playoff heroics, but every sport has people who play their best in the postseason…read a book sweaty
It’s not a real thing. Getting “hot” in the playoffs just happens. It’s not a skill. You have to account for randomness. Studies have been done to show this. If you search the stats you’ll eventually find some players who hit better on Tuesdays. What does it mean? Nothing. Gotta understand how statistics and data work. Gotta understand anomalies happen.
The thing is that this has already been studied scientifically… the results found that a certain amount of players were “clutch” and a certain number “unclutch”… the amounts were exactly what would be expected when accounting for randomness. Claims otherwise are just misconceptions from the past that people refuse to let go of. The psychology of one player to another is not divergent enough to account for drastic changes in ability according to situation. Again, this has actually been studied already.
@ Manfredsajoke
What would you say his postseason ave should be, and what type of batting ave do you consider to be above average. .280 in post season play is excellent, not only is there much added pressure, you get few at bats in each series so your ability to make it count is limited. Puig’s postseason record is pretty good. I am not sticking up for him but criticizing a post season .280 ave is nonsense.
How about Brett Gardner for example, post season ave .196
Reggie Jackson .278, I’m not comparing Puig to Jackson, I’m merely pointing out that you’re asserting .280 “is not shining in your book”…..
It’s above average.
Puig postseason is great…..the one series against houston he was awful if you take that out he is way above average with .303
.280 is still merit worthy cause pitchers bear down on hitters.
This is priceless, a sabermetrics guy lecturing on the importance of understanding “how statistics and data work” (a statement which makes no sense) while he clearly hasn’t a clue as to how and why certain athletes consistently overperform in the biggest of games, while others consistently choke under the pressure of said games. Anybody who says there’s no such thing as clutch clearly isn’t familiar with Mr. David Ortiz, he of the 3.2 Career Postseason WPA in 369 PA’s. The dude put up a .947 OPS against many of the best pitchers in baseball.
Sid, he is referring to his oicture book he received on his birthday.
Anyone who ever studied stats knows “It is not what you do, but when you do it.” Jackson may have had a.280 batting average in postseason but he also hit big home runs in the World Series ( and has 5 rings). By comparison, Dave Winfield had 3.000 hits and superior career statistics, but went 1-23 in the 1981 World Series ( which is why George Steinbrenner referred you him as “Mr. May). I would take Jackson over Winfield any day.
.280 BA and .351 OBP isn’t bad but it’s not superstardom. Yasiel Puig is an above average player, yet still highly overrated and a huge headcase. Maybe not shining, but not awful performance-wise. I think the bigger issue here is that he’s a headcase. His attitude reminds me of Manny Machado.
Tell that to Crash Davis
Mark Lemke says that it’s not about randomness. Some people are just clutch in big moments.
Edgar Renteria agrees. So does Jim Leyritz.
Barry Bonds was about to say something, but then decided that he’ll just stay quiet.
Anyone who insists clutch exists by citing anecdotal player stats in small sample sizes without accounting for randomness doesn’t understand how math works. But by all means, continue with your outdated analysis unfettered by new information. Talk radio listeners will agree with you so to heck with what actual PHDs say.
It’s not what you do but when you do it… and doing at one time as opposed to another is simply not a skill nor has it ever been. It’s random luck and a study of the numbers shows this.
If you pour over enough stats you’ll find a player who hits significantly better on mondays. According to the logic of some here that PROVES the player is magically more talented on said day. Ever heard of accounting for randomness? Statistical anomalies? Small sample sizes?
I played a lot of baseball as a youngster. And you know what? I was a choker. It wasn’t random. During the playoffs and travel league games, I put too much pressure on myself and cracked under that pressure in every big at bat. I was a very good, if not great regular season hitter.
Anxiety, the mental aspect, self-made pressure and dealing with that pressure is a real thing for many players. Even more than you think in the big leagues. To write that off as a statistical anomaly, you either never played, or never had those issues. Regardless, those issues are very real.
Southside, I hear what you’re saying, but that’s little league. Totally different when it’s a professional top of the talent pool, trained and developed major leaguer. Their psychological makeup is worlds different than that of an adolescent in a travel league. And it still doesn’t explain the absurd idea that some players magically get better in the playoffs.
Which is still better than what the great Willie Mays did in the postseason, as he hit .247 in 89 postseason at bats..
Having a PHD in Mathematics doesn’t mean you know more about baseball played by humans.
There is a fact that some people, whether grown men or not, are overly stressed in perceived high stress situations like the postseason of professional sports. Some are relaxed in those situations. Then others are stimulated to focus better in some situations, like high pressure situations. There are not mathematics in this.
And I don’t get the small sample size response to my mentioning Mark Lemke, Edgar Renteria, Jim Leyritz and Barry Bonds. Each of these individuals played in multiple postseason series in multiple years, and had similar performances for the most part. Lemke, despite being a light hitter in his career, was very successful through multiple postseason series through multiple years. Jim Leyritz was mostly a platoon player, but has multiple big moments in the postseason. Edgar Renteria was an All Star SS no doubt, but came through big in a couple of different World Series, over a decade apart – and routinely came through with many big hits throughout his career. And Bonds, despite having a Hall of Fame performance in his career (even though cheating), his PEDs didn’t help him in multiple postseason appearances in which he did not perform to his history on multiple occasions. Could stats explain how this is random when we look at these four to explain that, or perhaps the fact that they are humans, and the guy with the most expectations to lead his team (Bonds) is the one that didn’t come through, while the guys that had no expectation (Lemke and Leyritz) would come through in many key moments, and while there was one All Star who was a supporting cast player (Renteria) who wasn’t the central focus on his teams, but continued to come through time and time again, which included a World Series winning walk-off hit one year and then a World Series MVP well over a decade later when he was past his prime? Math doesn’t cover that. Psychology and observation of a person’s demeanor and history in those situations explain that…and they say that it isn’t random. It says that some guys can come through in some situations and others can’t.
This game is played by humans. It is not played by robots. Some of you have seriously spent too much time on your fantasy leagues and video games. Anyone that has played the game knows this stuff.
These professional players are human and we’ve seen many that melt under the spotlight throughout MLB history. Every single one of us have had those guys in our team’s history that we knew could not step up in high pressure situations.
And funny thing about stats. They have those high leverage innings for pitchers. Guess what that attempts to factor in, but can’t? Human element of pressure under certain situations.
Ss is cespedes
For 60 games and one year? Mets should jump all over that.
Perfect for the Mets.
The season itself will certainly be a good test study to determine the following:
Do the Mets fail because they can’t succeed in more than half a season?
or
Do they fail because they can’t succeed in pressure games in September and beyond?
As for Puig, they get him and sell the team to A*Roids and J-Lo, they will be in typical Mets tradition.
Inappropriate. Slanderous. Presumptuous.
Puig to the Giants ? Lol . How does that work? The Giants are terrible. They projected to finish last in the NL West before the season was postponed. And they won’t be any better in a 60 game season. The starting rotation is Ugly and the hitters are worse. How does Puig change things ?
It’s impressive how big of a home the Giants have made in that tiny brain of yours. Lol. Giants
Righty is correct. Puig? huh. Why bother. I’m a lifelong Giants fan and prior to covid-19 the Giants projected as a last place team. And the new 60 game geographically re-aligned schedule + DH only make it worse.
Dumb Giants fans complain about the hitting. And it;s actually a valid complaint. The talent at the plate compared to rest of the
league is laughable. But they fail to understand that the pitching. Specifically the SP’s are gonna be really bad. The added DH , Hurts the Giants. And the schedule?
In 60 games, The Giants will face LAD 10 times. Houston 5 times. Not to mention other good hitting teams like, Colorado 10 times, AZ 10 times,Oakland 5 times,
The Giants weakass pitching is gonna get LIT. UP.
The short season takes the initial Giants baseball season from Bad to embarrassing. It’s gonna be a full on Sh*tshow and Puig can’t fix that
.
Why do you have a problem with a team that is rebuilding? Every team goes through this. They are never any good. So, what is your real issue? They have made great strides. What is your real complaint?
I’m with you. Puig is a hard pass. Giants already have their clubhouse clowns in Pablo and Pence. Puig is hated in SF and isn’t worth the nonsense. Especially in this shortened strange season.
What’s wrong with Pence and the Panda? They make baseball worth watching. I’m sure the fans in SF would accept Puig. One donger against the Dodgers and all will be right with the world.
Nothing wrong with Pence and Panda, they’re great teammates. My point is the dugout/clubhouse doesn’t need any more energy and especially from a guy that Giants fans can’t stand. I’m sure plenty of Giants players feel the same about Puig. Pass
Except there won’t be any Giants in the stands
Astros might take him they care nothing about protocols
that’s a legitimate concern.
Hell no!
Blue jays should throw him in CF. Would be a good trade piece at whatever the deadline is
He’d be a negative WAR player as an everyday CFr… what kind of trade bait is that? Plus, if no one wants him now for basically free, why would they trade assets for him later? Makes no sense.
Because he is given a chance to play everyday with the jays to rebuild value. Good teams will have injury’s and need a extra bat, others could underperform. Rebuilding teams like to take players like this into there lineup to prop up stats and maybe sell a couple jerseys. Do you not know the basic fundamentals of taking flyers on guys to build future value.
The basic fundamentals, as you call them, need to be rethought. He’s had plenty of playing time the last few years. He is what he is. The notion that you can arbitrarily reboot a declining player by giving them a more defined role is outdated. I’m not saying signing him is crazy, I just wouldn’t do it and certainly not to play CF.
He’s not great but he’s never had a WAR under 1 before (hardly high praise but just facts), and plenty of players get added just before the season on a one-year deal, play well, and then are dealt at the deadline for a prospect or two.
He was a 1.3 WAR guy as a RFr last year. Playing CF would drag that number down quite a bit. But I was being a bit hyperbolic. He’s not a bad player. Could be a great bat off the bench. But putting him in CF would likely not do well for his value.
In your defense, I glossed over the idea he would be in CF and not his usual RF. So you’re probably right.
No way I sign Puig if I’m Toronto. That’s a young ball club that does not need Puig’s antics – bad influence.
Need to cut Alford and Fisher first. Puig would be a good test for Montoya as manager.
In a short season and with the neutered red sox the blue Jays have a VERY real shot at being a wild card team.
Why risk that for a sideshow like puig?
Here is one thing about this short season…there are NO excuses for any team to not try to win this year.
Looking at you O’s, Marlins, Pirates, etc.
Rebuilding is a legit exercise. So is saving money while you do it.
Not this year. If they don’t try this year (60 freaking games) they don’t care and you no longer have to wonder or give the benefit of the doubt.
The Pirates need a DH (ugh, that felt weird to type). They could do worse than Puig.
He’d just have to pick a new number.
As much as I don’t care for Puig, his addition to the Pirates would minimally draw some fan interest to a mediocre team. Good idea.
Pirates waived the white flag back in the offseason. Nothing can be done to fix that now.
I dont like Puig
i like puig
I like Piña Coladas and getting caught in the rain.
But I don’t like cricket.
Puig would crush the KBO wide open. I still would like to see him in a stable environment, and maybe settle down a little bit. The best thing for him right now would be a multi year deal with an MLB team, because he needs stability. Maybe the Rangers? Especially after Choo leaves.
they’d also love his personality in Korea
Yes, he’d get a standing O by every fan in the stadium, even when on the away team…
See ya, Yasiel!
Can you trust Puig to follow the safety protocals?
HE cannot lick his bat, grab, huge, touch or punch players which is going to be tough for him not to do.
I find it unbelievable that he can’t find a major league contract to his liking. It’s not like he’s over the hill and past his prime. Just crazy that someone so talented and still so young can’t find a decent contract. He may be a head case at times, but wow.
He’s not really THAT talented though.
Puig gets so much hate, yet meanwhile there’s Trevor Bauer who gets off scot-free from ire somehow.
if I’m honest, Puig just seems like the guy who got out in musical chairs. always a decent number of OF available each winter, and a good one or two cant land a starting spot each time.
What 2020 mlb season?
Puig is a character. He either needs to improve his game or improve his character.
He wouldn’t that crap with the Angels. Pujols and Trout won’t allow it.
Another factor that could affect the market for Puig is if any players individually opt out of playing in 2020 due to health concerns. I’m interested to see how that plays out in the next couple of weeks.
Puig would have a better shot at signing in the NPB than the KBO.
Someone will sign Puig to a one year deal soon. I see the Giants, Padres or the Rangers as good fits, and maybe even the Rockies now that they’ll have a DH spot open. Puig is certainly immature but he gets way too much negative press. His teammates actually like him, which is the most important thing (see David Price). If he gets signed and has a monster, albeit very short season, he might finally be able to find a multi-year deal next season. He just needs to be realistic about what his value truly is, especially next season when free agent spending will be way down after owners lose a $1B+ in 2020.
the rangers dont need another mediocre corner outfielder.
Another mediocre corner outfielder?? You mean to go alongside Gallo, Choo, and Calhoun. With Santana in CF, the Rangers three “mediocre” corner OFs are their three best offensive weapons.
He’ll latch on somewhere with a need for DH and occasional OF duties. SF had been mulling it over before Covid, and there’s the link to GM Zaidi who knew Puig well in the Dodger days.
I think he would be a great 4th outfielder for the twins
I would watch any team with Puig on it. He’s electrifying. I’ll never understand all the hate. The dude was a beast for the Dodgers down the stretch in 2018. It’s not like he’s washed up.
He had 2 HRs in 207 PAs with the Tribe last year, not the power you’d expect out of him. He also wore out his welcome with Tito, the ultimate players manager who didn’t want him back.
1.3 WAR in 140+ games… not washed up but below average and decidedly meh… the “hate” comes from well documented clashes he’s had with teammates and coaches just about everywhere he’s been. It may be overblown but it can’t be ignored.
Cosmo, what were his well documented clashes in Cincy? Or Cleveland?
He was reportedly a model citizen and teammate (to my surprise) while in Cincinnati. I’m surprised there is not any interest.
unfortunately Puig will never shake the “bad character” tag for some reason. i would love to see a few more massive brawls.
angels… please check in on this
It would be ‘racist’ to say anything negative about Yasiel Puig’s playing ability, well just because it is in 2020 and most uneducated fools use that word on a daily basis now without even knowing the correct meaning. How dare you.
What will be interesting is how teams handle transactions. Can’t imagine teams taking on significant salary in trades this season
Puig in Korea? God stone the crows. He would hit a 100 home runs.
He is going to SF.
Man I really wanted him to come to the Sox. Feel like Abreu would be able to keep him focused.
I don’t see why the marlins would go after this guy. I mean, there outfield is a tad full, but he would be a great pickup for them. Especially if they end up doing a DH for them. Plus, anytime you add a big name Latino player, it only helps in that market… I mean, let’s not be ignorant… he checks a lot of boxes for them and he’s a pretty solid player. As a Braves fan, I’d hate to see him go there, but I can’t denied the fit
Would make a great DH for an NL team.
Puig on the Giants takes away ABs from Jaylin Davis and other prospects, and he’s a headache. Let the young guys play—I see the 60-game season as a plus for the rebuilding Giants . . .as long as no one gets Covid-19.
I played a lot of baseball as a youngster. And you know what? I was a choker. It wasn’t random. During the playoffs and travel league games, I put too much pressure on myself and cracked under that pressure in every big at bat. I was a very good, if not great regular season hitter.
Anxiety, the mental aspect, self-made pressure and dealing with that pressure is a real thing for many players. Even more than you think in the big leagues. To write that off as a statistical anomaly, you either never played, or never had those issues. Regardless, those issues are very real.
Puig loves him some doyer pitching.