Los Angeles Dodgers: Five Potential Trade Destinations for Yasiel Puig

With the days of Puig-mania long past and lots of big contracts on the books the Los Angeles Dodgers are looking to move their once prized right fielder, and it’s pretty likely they’ll be able to find some takers.

The MLB Winter Meetings have wrapped up, but that doesn’t mean the stove is cooling off. One transaction that seems likely to happen soon is the trade of Yasiel Puig from the Dodgers; according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com Puig and fellow outfielder Matt Kemp are on the trading block, and being actively shopped:

Both men are in their walk years next year, and Puig will probably be the easier to move of the two. Kemp, who will be 35 next season, had a bit of a resurgence in the first half of 2018, slashing .310/.352/.522 going into the all star break, but he fell off a little in the second half, most due to a rough August where he slashed .214/.291/.286. All in all Kemp had a decent season, but he’s also due $21.5 million next year, so it would be kind of hard to justify picking him up unless the Dodgers offered to take on a lot of the contract. These moves are looking to be salary dumps, so that seems very unlikely.

This leaves us with Puig, who is one of the league’s most intriguing players. Beyond the lovable personality and emotional flair that’s well displayed in MLB’s “Let the Kids Play” promo Puig is notable for some statistical anomalies. Puig bats right handed, but when evaluating where he might fit on another MLB roster you should actually think of him as if he batted from the other side of the plate; most batters excel when facing a pitcher of opposite handiness, but Puig does the opposite. In 2018 he had an OPS of .982 versus right handed pitchers, and an OPS of .628 against southpaws.

When Puig first burst onto the scene in 2013 he came on extremely strong, and after his first two seasons it seemed like he might develop into a perennial all star. So far, this hasn’t happened. He’s regressed statistically every year for his first four years in the league, causing some to question if what they thought they saw early on was legit. Puig, who will be 28 next season still has time to prove these doubters wrong, and he’s shown improvement over the past two seasons. Next year will be super important for him due to his impending free agency, which is a motivation many teams will want to capitalize on.

Last year Puig made $7.5 million and he’s arbitration eligible this year so his pay will likely go up slightly. His contract for next year won’t be enough to scare every team a way, but it will limit his market a bit, and only teams that are pretty confident in him will likely take on the risk. Let’s look at a few who could be contenders.

The Cincinnati Reds

According to Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer this is a trade that might already be in the works. The Reds, apparently not deterred by last years 67-95 record or the fact that they’re in the same division as the Cubs and Brewers seem to be trying to build a winning team next year, something that is becoming more uncommon in this age of tanking.

Outside of Jesse Winker the Reds outfield is very unimpressive, so Puig would be an upgrade who would most likely get immediate and consistent starts. In theory this would give the Reds a pretty formidable offensive core; with Puig joining the line-up with Winker, Joey Votto, Scooter Gennett and Eugenio Suárez the Reds would have 5 hitters who had an OPS+ greater than or equal to 120 last year.

Also making Puig a tantalizing option for the Reds is the fact that he rakes in NL Central parks. He has been especially dangerous at Busch Stadium, where he has 5 home runs and an OPS. of 1.258 over 54 plate appearances.

Philadelphia Phillies

With Phillies ownership planning to “be a little stupid” it’s hard not to think of them whenever a big name suddenly appears on the trade market. Andrew McCutchen was recently added to the outfield, and him and Puig would make for an interesting platoon option with a lot of potential (they both bat right handed, but remember that Puig has reverse platoon tendencies for some reason). McCuthen is due $10 million next year, and Puig will likely make around that, so it would be an expensive tandem, but if neither Bryce Harper or Manny Machado end up on the team the Phillies reasonably could have the money to spare.

The more depth that the Phillies have in the outfield the better chance they have of keeping Rhys Hoskins playing first, which is another factor that makes a trade for Puig a good move. The young Hoskins was extremely impressive with the bat last year, hitting for power with 34 home runs and slashing .246/.354/.496, but he was a bit of a liability in the outfield, with -24 defensive runs saved above average in 135 games. His defensive skillset will serve him a lot better at first base.

For a good portion of last year the Phillies outfield consisted of Hoskins, Odubel Herrera and Nick Williams, a trio with an average age of 25. Adding Puig alongside McCutchen and possibly Harper or Michael Brantley would completely change the dynamic of the outfield, and bring some much needed experience to a club that missed out on the playoffs last year.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays aren’t usually going to be your target for a salary dump trade, on account of they don’t like to spend money. It’s kind of their whole thing. But, Puig’s contract isn’t looking to be outrageous, so this move would be more like a baby salary dump, something the Rays could stomach.

The Rays are going to have to spend some money and/or take on some contracts in 2019 if they want to grab one of the AL wildcard spots or (gasp) compete for the division. They just signed starter Charlie Morton to a 2 year $30 million deal, which was kind of a surprise both because of the money and the fact that he’s a traditional starter (it looked last year like the Rays might be ditching those). With a front end of Cy Young winner Blake Snell, Morton and a very promising looking Tyler Glasnow the Rays rotation is actually looking kind of scary. If they want to capitalize on this they’ll need some more offense, and Puig is just what the doctor ordered.

Puig makes sense for the Rays for more than his play on the field. The team just failed to convince the city of Tampa that they need a new stadium, partially due to lack of attendance and local support. As inconsistent as he is Puig is also one of baseballs most charismatic players, one of the few in the game likely to both flip and lick a bat. Adding Puig alone wouldn’t suddenly start bringing crowds out in droves to the Trop, but it would give fans something to cheer about as their team starts on the path to winning consistently.

St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals had a roller coaster season last year, coming on like real contenders for the NL Central through a 22-6 August only to fall off with a disappointing 12-15 September. With the addition of Paul Goldschmidt the Cardinals have already turned their offense up a few notches, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement.

Right fielder Dexter Fowler is coming off of the worst complete season of his career, in which he slashed .180/.278/.298 in 90 games before being placed on the DL. The addition of Goldschmidt means that José Martínez, who slashed .305/.364/.457 in 2018, could take over in right, but this doesn’t mean that the St. Louis outfield couldn’t still use improvement. Puig is a better defensive right fielder than Martínez, and his splits would make him a candidate to platoon with left fielder Marcell Ozuna. Rookie center fielder Harrison Bader impressed last year, but that in no way makes him a sure thing for 2019.

With all of this in mind a outfield by committee with Puig playing a substantial role might be the Cardinals best bet to compete with the superpower Cubs and Brewers in the Cardinals quest for a NL Central title that is in no way outside of their reach. As mentioned earlier Puig hits very well at Busch stadium, slashing ..364/.463/.795 there for his career.