Editorials

Dodgers Player On Yasiel Puig Trade : ‘Addition By Subtraction’

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Yasiel Puig has been one of the most polarizing figures not only in Los Angeles, but also in the Major Leagues, since his debut in June of 2013.

Puig came into the league and immediately lifted a stuck-in-the-mud Dodgers team and helped them win the NL West and reach the NLCS. His arrival coincided with Hanley Ramirez’s complete hot streak down the stretch; however, the Dodgers fell to the St. Louis Cardinals in six games. Since then Puig has consistently shown his talent, but has put off some with his bat flips, antics and off-field issues.

Regardless of what others say about the eccentric outfielder, the Dodgers have embraced their superstar and he’s rewarded them with his play on the field. Rumors and stories of Puig being an issue in the clubhouse have swirled since that first year, yet his teammates have never mentioned anything that says they have issues with the 24-year-old.

According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, there is a teammate that believes getting rid of Puig wouldn’t be a bad thing:

We’ve talked about this,” one Dodgers player told Yahoo Sports. “At this point, it would be addition by subtraction.”

Passan goes deeper into possible issues involving Puig, some taken from Molly Knight’s upcoming book, The Best Team Money Can Buy: The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Wild Struggle to Build a Baseball Powerhouse.

Puig was benched on Opening Day in 2014 after showing up late to Dodger Stadium, but he hasn’t been benched for tardiness since then. In the dugout, it appears that Puig is liked and he’s always one of the first players out to celebrate. The All-Star is now without Hanley Ramirez and Juan Uribe; however, it doesn’t seem to have changed much on the outside.

Players won’t ever publicly say that Puig is a problem, but the fact that one feels strongly enough to say that a trade would be a good thing isn’t exactly what the organization wants to see.

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Vincent Samperio

Vince is currently the Associate Editor and Social Media Manager for Dodgers Nation. Hailing from San Pedro, CA and a student at Cal State Long Beach, Vince has previously written for the Daily 49er and LASF Magazine.

37 Comments

    1. Agree 100%. Hopefully that player is already gone, since all of the quotes concern the 2014 team.

  1. Yahoo Sports is not a real good source for news. Almost as bad as the LA Times…

  2. What a dumbxxx ! Who’s the dodger player saying this? Maybe he’s the one who should get traded. The kid is trying and this person is putting him down ! Instead of trying to get him traded be a good teammate and support him! If he was in a team like the Giants and it pains me to say this they would know how to bring him along.

    I love my Dodgers but the Giants really don’t bicker about shi** like this, they pull for one another and they play as a team .

    1. What if that anonymous Dodger player happens to be a productive player? Would you still trade him if his name was to be revealed and said those things about Puig? Lol. I do agree with you though that Puig really needs the guidance. It seems no one on that team doesn’t really want to do that though.

  3. Dodgers would regret it so bad if they traded Puig. We need to let Mattingly go and let Honeycutt become the manager. He deserves it.

  4. If they get rid of Puig, they get rid of me as a long time Dodger fan, going back to the ’60s

  5. That kinda sounds like something Greinke would say. He is the type that says whats on his mind. Either that or it would be Either because he’s the one who is going to see his innings diminish when Crawford comes back. I don’t see AGon saying that.

    1. He told Ellis right after he became a Dodger that he would trade him to upgrade the team…….It was probably very tongue in cheek

  6. Puig is a great talent, but if his presence is dividing the clubhouse, or even worse so, consolidating against him? I think you have to trade him. No one player is worth tanking the whole team and I am salivating thinking who we could get if Puig was packaged in a deal, cough cough Sonny Gray. On a better note, looks like Scioscia will be opting out of his contract right as we’re firing Mattingly, welcome home Mike.

    1. It is all innuendo and guessing…if there is a problem in the club house, and we as fans have no clue if that is true, this FO has not been afraid to get rid of so called bad seeds….aka Matt Kemp…..Also, I am not trading Puig unless I get one hell of a return, and I am not trading him to any of Fried Brain or Zorro’s buddies in crime either…..they do not have anything that attractive…..

      1. Fried Brain and Zorro… Love it! That is funny.

        As of tonight Puig is batting 298. he was 0-4 last night. He is such an odd play in that he seems to be either incredibly good or bad. Never average or mediocre he causes comment and fan reaction which I imagine is good for the Dodgers if not the clubhouse. I thought he was less of a distraction this year as they have mentioned he has been showing up on time etc. We would have to get a ton for this guy as he is a legitimate 5 tools guy, cost controlled for several years and very young. I really doubt they would trade him. But never say never.

  7. I find it interesting that everything is Mattingly’s fault. How much control does he have? He does not pick the personnel and I doubt if he sets the Batting Order. Now with that said If Mike Scioscia came available this next year I would drop Mattingly in a hot second and hire Mike. Love his pitching choices and his hard nose attack style.

    1. The kinds of teams Mike won with small ball is the polar opposite of this Dodgers team not sure if it would work. Also managing in the NL is a lot different than the AL.

      1. Mike Scioscia played in the National League for almost 13 years…I am pretty sure he knows the difference in play, He also manages inter league games where he has to use NL strategies, and he learned in the Dodger organization….and putting runners in motion now and then might get this station to station crap out of the Dodgers game.

  8. We don’t know when the quote was given. Apparently it was in the book that’s causing such a stir? If that’s the case, it’s an old quote…which makes me wonder if it wasn’t Kemp that said it. They didn’t exactly get along, especially after Kemp found out he was no longer the star outfielder.

    If someone has a problem with Puig for his emotional, all out style of play, then the problem is them. I wish all players were as emotional about the game as him.

    1. Kemp and Puig were not drinking buddies……but that being said if it is an OLD QUOTE< who cares who said it….it means nothing in the larger scheme of things, and as far as I am concerned it is just another media blurb to stir up stuff…..

      1. That’s my point. The quote is potentially irrelevant and if it’s this late, it’s irresponsible, pot stirring reporting in the book.

  9. It will be years before Puig grows up. Its a lot to ask someone of his background to conform to a very strict structure, such as an MLB locker room. Its probably best if he goes somewhere else. Early thoughts on this new GM, eh…This offense, or lack thereof, is his doings. Lots of players have been shipped out, with very little in return. Our pitching staff is in shambles…

    1. Lack of offense? What are you talking about? The main players who have been replaced that everyone said would destroy our offense (kemp, Hanley, Gordon, Ellis) have a combined 22 HR and 102 rbi to this point.
      Their direct replacements (Kendrick, Rollins, pederson, Grandal) have a combined 45 HR and 126 rbi.

      We are just coming out of a slump. Prior to that we had the most prolific offense in baseball. Things are starting to click again with the offense, and overall, the pitching has been stellar. Of course, anyone that knows anything about baseball knows to expect a few bumps in the road ESPECIALLY with all the injuries we’ve dealt with.

      1. Blue I agree the offense has been better than any of us could have hoped for. Except for Rollins everyone has been very good and Rollins has started to heat up a bit. With the injuries this team has been remarkable. We have the 4 th best starting rotation ERA so far. Is that amazing or what? Looks like we get Beachy after the All Star break and according to reports here there are a load of Cubans on the way.

        1. I keep hearing about beachy like he’s some kind of savior. I don’t know much about him, but I guess we will see him very soon.

          Our rotation really has been amazing, really the whole team has. They did an outstanding job creating depth. If it wasn’t for everyone deciding to slump at the same time (which is highly unlikely) we’d be right up there with STL! That’s incredibly impressive with our injury trouble.

          Speaking of the rotation…I’m kinda hoping something happens trade wise before the next Frias start. Watching him pitch gives me gray hair.

          1. Ha yes Frias is scarey. He has a heckuva arm and so little big league experience. Paper says he has been fighting lower back stiffness the last two starts. From what I read Beachy was just coming into his own as a pitcher and had two Tommy John’s within a 4 year period. But scouts and players say that when he was pitching well he is a dominant pitcher with great stuff. We shall see. Lord Knows we could use someone about now. J Harrison on the Lead Off show says he batted against him and Beachy is a top tier guy. IF he can come back.

  10. Hasn’t really done squat since he first came up. He is the worst fundamentaly sound player in MLB. All those bat flips and hot dogging would have made him a target for getting knocked on his ass back in the good old days. Imagine him pulling that shit on Bob Gibson or Drysdale.

  11. My comment was under the guise that Puig was becoming too much of a distraction and his trade was the only way to salvage the team, that being said I don’t believe the situation has gotten that bad and actually it seems to have gotten better in contrast to last season. I do think that if he was a potential trade piece I could only imagine who we’d get in exchange. I could see a Puig / Zach Lee for Sonny Gray and Tyler Clippard or Puig and Guerrero for Cueto, Chapman, and a prospect. And before anyone rips these scenarios apart, try to remember their just conjecture.

    1. The only way the Dodgers are going to get Sonny Gray is if they give up Julio Urias, which I doubt that’s ever going to happen. I don’t see Puig getting traded this season. Probably in the offseason if management feels like Puig needs a change of scenery.

      1. Not necessarily. You don’t think a package of Puig and Zach Lee would do it? I think that would be a haul for Oakland, especially for a player that they’re eventually going to lose to free agency anyway. Billy Beane has always traded all his best players because he has no shot to keep them once they’re free agents, add that with his track record of trading even the most productive players (Cespedes/Donaldson) then theis doesn’t seem so far fetched.

        1. Yeah but Zach Lee doesn’t have ace material. He’s more of a middle of the rotation pitcher. Urias has the making of an ace. I could see Zach Lee getting traded to the Reds for either Cueto or Mike Leake. Besides Gray won’t be a free agent until 2017 or 2018. Oakland has plenty of time hanging on to Gray.

  12. Somebody’s brothers cousins ex wife’s best friends daughter who is in kindergarten said…

  13. Puig seems to feel that he can throw out every baserunner and goes nuts in his effort…His throws continue to be wild…over cut off player…over the head. He lacks consentration. He also continues to swing at the first pitch, and many times low and outside pitches. Most of the time he swings and misses. It’s crazy. Why does n’t he not take a pitch or two….to know the pitcher’s strength and weakness. It seems like the pitchers know his weaknesses and keep getting him out. A trade Tampa Bay Rays’s third baseman would help Puig…change of scenery.

    1. We must be watching different games. This year, I see him hitting cut off men regularly. He doesn’t get the chance to throw out many runners anymore, because not many guys test him. What an asset in right field. He takes away bases just by being present.

      His batting average early in the count is very very good. That’s why he swings early. However, he has shown improved discipline at the plate as evidenced by his increase in walks. And news flash….MOST players swing and miss most of the time. Not just Puig. That’s partly why a great hitting is still unsuccessful 70% of the time.

      1. Imagine living in a crummy apartment until you are 20 years old or so and then boom you are a millionaire. Last year he cut his strikeout numbers drastically. He is a kid and he will mature.

  14. Haters gunna h8 h8 h8. Oh no! He was tardy, better ground him.
    Stop bitching, this is not housewives of San Fernando.
    Edited because I can.

  15. I am tired of the Puig bashing. It started with a few other teams led by members and associated staff of the Giants and Card’s and more recently the sports media seems to be pushing it forward. If it is true that one of the Dodger’s said that I wonder if that player is one of those who play like they are in a coma sometimes, no passion, lack of emotion, etc. I would take a team full of Puigs over some of the dead heads they have now. Baseball’s “unwritten rules” are all BS. Other teams think this gives them license to throw at him; this is BS also. Bring us more Puigs, get rid of Donnie, and find us a new Lasorda!

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