Orioles Rumors: Yasiel Puig reportedly offered a contract

Could Yasiel Puig spend his summer at Camden Yards? The Baltimore Orioles have reportedly offered the free agent a contract.

According to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, the Baltimore Orioles are the latest team to have interest in signing free agent outfielder Yasiel Puig and have “made at least one offer” per Feinsand.

The news is certainly a shock to Orioles fans who have watched the organization shed salary over the last year, including trading away starting pitcher Dylan Bundy and infielder Jonathan Villar to cut payroll and add additional talent to their growing minor league pipeline.

Even with outfielder/first baseman Trey Mancini out for at least the 2020 season while he fights colon cancer, the outfield in Baltimore figured to be an area of intrigue as the team likely heads toward another last place finish in the American League East.

Austin Hays, a top 10 prospect in the Orioles system, is set to take over centerfield duties in 2020 and beyond after a monster September call-up last season that saw him post a 146 wRC+ in 21 games and make a few highlight-reel plays, including robbing Vladimir Guererro Jr at Camden Yards in one of the top catches in all of baseball.

Both Anthony Santander (20 HR/20 2B season in 2019) and DJ Stewart (former first-round pick) were expected to see significant time in the corner outfield spots as the organization continues to evaluate their young outfielders, with 2019 International League MVP Ryan Mountcastle making his debut at some point early on in 2020 and spending the season learning left field.

Fellow top prospect Yusniel Diaz was also expected to see some time in the major leagues, pending a healthy beginning to his 2020 campaign.

Those plans may change if the Orioles do bring in Puig to man right field at Camden Yards. In a shortened season with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic looming and a whole bunch of weird of unusual going on around baseball, Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias could end taking a much more catious approach when it comes to his prospects.

Puig has been connected to numerous teams this offseason, including the San Francisco Giants and the Korea Baseball Organization most recently. At this point, any deal Puig signs isn’t going to a major financial hit to any team, even a team like the Orioles who have been active in keeping the payroll low.

In 149 games last season with the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians, Puig slashed .267/.327/.458 with 24 home runs, 30 doubles, and even swiped 19 bases. While his offense production won’t add very many wins to the Orioles bottom line, it would make an otherwise less than impressive offense a lot more fun.

Let’s keep 2020 weird in Baltimore. Come on down to the Charm City, Yasiel Puig.