Los Angeles Dodgers: Right time to trade Yasiel Puig?

The Los Angeles Dodgers will reportedly field trade offers for Yasiel Puig before the deadline. Is this a good time to move him?

Yasiel Puig trade rumors are certainly nothing new, but they seem to be cropping up again just over three weeks ahead of the August 1 non-waiver deadline. In a video report released yesterday, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal said that the Los Angeles Dodgers will entertain offers for the mercurial right fielder. Whether or not they move him could depend on when Andre Ethier returns from injury, and whether the team is able to acquire another outfielder.

Nothing in Rosenthal’s report is particularly earth-shattering. Puig is far from the untouchable future superstar he seemed to be when he debuted in 2013. Injuries and declining production have taken their toll, and the one-time Cuban phenom is now just trying to stay on the field and re-establish himself as one of the league’s better young players.

While the Dodgers probably wouldn’t hesitate to include him in the right deal, is that likely to happen by the end of the month?

Despite a somewhat checkered resume over his three and a half seasons in the major leagues, Puig still retains some appeal to ball clubs searching for a spark. While his overall numbers on the year are hardly inspiring (.258/.316/.389, 7 HR, 28 RBI, 93 wRC+), Puig has looked much improved at the plate since coming off the DL for a strained hamstring on June 21. Since then, he is slashing .328/.412/.483 with two homers and eight RBI in 18 games.

He probably won’t maintain that pace (.362 BABIP over that span), but Puig has shown some other encouraging signs in the last few weeks as well. Since his DL stint, he has posted a 10.3 percent walk rate and a 14.7 percent strikeout rate. Before the injury, those rates stood at 4.5 percent and 21.7 percent on the year, respectively.

Improved plate discipline would be a welcome development in Puig’s game, as the power he flashed in his rookie campaign has noticeably waned. In 2013, Puig belted 19 homers in 104 games, along with a .534 slugging percentage and .215 ISO (isolated power). In 298 games since then, he’s hit 34 round-trippers with a .448 slugging percentage and .170 ISO.

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Nevertheless, Puig is still just 25 years old and you would think at least a handful of teams would be willing to bet that a change of scenery could do him some good. Puig is due $17,428,000 total over the next two seasons, after which he is eligible for a year of arbitration. He will then hit free agency prior to the 2020 season. So while he would be a multi-year commitment for anyone wanting to take him on, he wouldn’t exactly break the bank either.

The Dodgers, however, could look at his age and contract situation as reasons to not be so hasty in dealing him. It’s also worth noting that Ethier – the supposed linchpin in determining the team’s willingness to trade Puig – has his own injury issues. The veteran outfielder hasn’t played yet this year because of a fractured right tibia, and he has routinely missed 20-30 games over each of the past few seasons. Does the team really want to lean more on a 34-year-old Ethier by unloading Puig? Trading for another outfielder (Rosenthal mentioned Jay Bruce as a possibility) is no sure thing either.

While Puig’s recent hot stretch definitely makes him more palatable to other teams than he would have been earlier in the year, there are still enough concerns about his on-field performance and off-the-field baggage to give most GMs pause. It’s difficult to see anyone giving up a whole lot for him.

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If that is indeed the case, it might behoove the Dodgers to wait it out, hope Puig finishes the year strong, and then revisit the subject in the offseason. They can see what kind of offers are out there this month, but at the moment there isn’t a real necessity to make a move they don’t like.

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