Yasiel Puig Trade Rumors: L.A. Dodgers Place Puig On Waivers To Seek Trade
Yasiel Puig trade rumors aren’t going away. The L.A. Dodgers placed Puig on waivers, meaning the team could trade Puig to any other team if he were to clear waivers. A report from NBC Sports just confirmed that Puig was claimed by another team, leading to the Dodgers “promptly” pulling him back. This means that the Dodgers didn’t want to lose him for nothing, and that the only team they can deal him to is that mystery claimant.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, many Dodgers fans have actually been calling for the front office to deal Puig in order to improve the pitching staff. Many of those same fans are also asking that Dodgers manager Don Mattingly get fired so that the team can move in a different direction. Ownership doesn’t seem keen on parting with Mattingly, though that could change if the franchise doesn’t find success in the 2015 MLB Playoffs. As for the Yasiel Puig trade rumors, it seems that the front office is very willing to move him now.
It is commonplace for MLB teams to place players on waivers just to pull them back. This is called the revocable waiver process, where franchises can just test the market to see if any players on the roster would draw interest from the rest of the market. If a team is looking to dump a lot of salary, it could place a player on waivers in the hopes that another team puts in a claim. If a claim is made, that second team could get a new player, with the original team getting out of paying the contract.
Though many MLB analysts still claim that Puig isn’t playing to his full potential, the All-Star outfielder has shown flashes of getting better this season. The Dodgers need him to find some momentum and consistency before the postseason, but his last week has pushed those numbers in the opposite direction. Over his last six games, Puig has a .167 batting average, a .655 OPS, and just three hits. It drops his batting average on the season to just .246 through 66 games.
A team-controlled All-Star outfielder is still something prized around MLB, so his overall value hasn’t dipped much. Puig is also just 24 years old, showing he likely hasn’t reached his full potential. By the Los Angeles Dodgers putting him on waivers, it predicts that there are going to be more Yasiel Puig trade rumors during the MLB offseason. Unless the team works out a deal with the franchise that claimed him, Puig has at least a few more months of action in a Dodgers uniform.
[Image Source: Stephen Dunn/Getty Images]
