Dodgers Team News

Athletics’ Yoenis Cespedes Said Home Run Derby Not For Yasiel Puig

Oakland A’s outfielder Yoenis Cespedes won the Home Run Derby last night in New York and automatically people were asking, “What if Yasiel Puig would’ve participated?”.

Cespedes isn’t an All-Star and dominated the competition in the early rounds before beating Bryce Harper in the finals. After winning the derby, Cespedes was asked about whether or not Puig would’ve beaten him according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times:



“Not to be disrespectful to him at all, but I know him from Cuba,” Cespedes said through an interpreter. “This is not the type of competition he would be able to excel at. He’s not really a home run hitter, so I believe I would win.”

Puig had a shot at making the All-Star team through the “Final Vote”, but lost to Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman, who happened to pull out of the game.

In his short stint at the big league level, Puig has been a phenomenon with his speed, power and defense as he’s helped the Dodgers get to .500 and only 2.5 games out of first place.

While it would’ve been a sight to see if Puig was in the Home Run Derby, it’s better for the Dodgers that his swing won’t get messed up during the break. Coupled together with the minor hip injury that he sustained in Colorado, Puig doing nothing for the break should benefit him down the stretch.

 

Ross Gasmer

Ross Gasmer is a Social Media Producer for @TheHerd and was a contributing writer and editor for Dodger Nation. Follow him on Twitter @Ross_Gasmer12

One Comment

  1. Actually really glad that none of the Dodgers is participating in ASG, except Kershaw. But he is projected to go for one inning so that doesn’t concern me much.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button