Colorado Rockies: A polarizing player fits a polarizing team

Free agent outfielder Yasiel Puig is one of the more divisive players in baseball. He might be more name value at this point but one of his suitors is the perfect fit in the Colorado Rockies.

If there is a lasting image of Yasiel Puig from the 2019 season its probably the image where he decided to take on the entire Pittsburgh Pirates team. The other lasting image was him fighting the Pirates again, when he had been traded to the Indians.

There is Yasiel Puig the personality and Yasiel Puig the player. If there is one place Puig ought to be, why not add the biggest enigma in baseball to the most polarizing team in baseball. I am talking of course about the Colorado Rockies who are one of the favorites to sign Puig.

The Rockies have an interesting mix of homegrown talent to go with replacement level free agents. They made the playoffs in 2017 and 2018 before taking a big step back in 2019. As they look to be competitive despite angering superstar Nolan Arenado, Yasiel Puig is the perfect fit to be the left fielder in Coors Field.

Last season, the Rockies ranked 28th in production in LF with an 89 wRC+ and 0.1 fWAR. PUig’s performance has fluctuated wildly throughout his career with a high of 5.5 fWAR and a low of 1.0. Even if Puig is only a 1 WAR player, he would still represent a massive upgrade both on the field and in personality for the Rockies.

That being said, Puig has totaled 3.0 fWAR over the past two season and has had above average batting lines in both. Puig is a roll of the dice, he has all the tools to be a good player, just sometimes it doesn’t come together. He chases pitches out of the zone and has an aversion to cut off men but as a teammate he’s like a tequila shot, either you love him or hate him.

Puig is still an above average runner and has above average exit velocity. Defensive metrics have similar feelings about Puig, Defensive Runs Saved was neutral on Puig at 0 DRS while Statcast OAA also graded Puig the same.

The Colorado Rockies are trying to compete in an NL West that features the favorites in the Dodgers and two upstart teams in San Diego and Arizona. Yasiel Puig represents an upgrade that would make them more competitive and interesting. He’s not a superstar but Puig would be a legitimate free agent upgrade when the Rockies have given out long terms deals to likes of Ian Desmond and Gerardo Parra.

Puig in Colorado needs to happen, for baseball, for Rockies fans, the team just needs Puig to sign on the dotted line.