On a slow news day on Thursday, with the respective League Championship Series not slated to start until the weekend, George Ofman decided to take it upon himself to set off a bit of a frenzy throughout the baseball world with this single tweet:
Are the Dodgers shopping Puig? You bet and the Cubs are one of several teams interested.
— George Ofman (@georgeofman) October 9, 2014
Now this is a pretty serious statement regarding the Los Angeles Dodgers and their Cuban superstar Yasiel Puig. What makes it extremely interesting is the fact that not only did it come from a local radio personality, a rarity as far as hot stove rumblings are concerned, but it also came from a local radio personality in Chicago. To say that’s a bit curious would be a pretty serious understatement.
There a number of words and phrases one could use in order to describe even the idea of trading Puig, some of them not quite school appropriate. Overall, the idea of trading a superstar, let alone announcing that he’s even available, is one that would illustrate an insanity level of epic proportions on the part of the Dodgers front office. There is really no shortage of reasons that such a scenario doesn’t quite add up.
For one, Yasiel Puig has become the face of the Dodgers, at least as far as position players are concerned. Matt Kemp burnt out quickly, even if he is coming off of a strong 2014 campaign. Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier are mere corpses at this point. Why would the Dodgers trade a player that is not only coming off of a season in which he established himself as one of the premier players in baseball this year, let alone easily the best outfield option in a crowded group.
Puig is coming off of a year in which he will almost certainly finish near the top of the voting for the National League Most Valuable Player award. He finished with a 5.1 fWAR through a .382 on-base percentage, while cutting down on his strikeout rate and increasing his walk rate. He was an adventure in the field and on the basepaths at times, but it’s all part of the appeal.
It isn’t difficult to discern exactly where the trade speculation may have come from. Don Mattingly foolishly benched Puig in Game 4 of the National League Division Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, thanks to a rough stretch that resulted in seven consecutive strikeouts. Regular season, you might understand that decision, but not in a must-win game. That situation might have demonstrated where Mattingly and/or the front office stands with Puig. Very likely the former, which might not even matter for much longer.
At the end of the day, trading Yasiel Puig offers virtually no benefit for the Dodgers. Are there teams that could send a nice package their way in a deal? Sure, but not many outside of perhaps the Boston Red Sox or Chicago Cubs. But trading the best position player on the team for a package of prospects wouldn’t sit well with fans, nor does it make any sense in this situation.
In reality, Puig is about as much of a “distraction” as Bryce Harper is. He’s not going anywhere.
