Yasiel Puig’s tenure with the Los Angeles Dodgers took a turn this season when the club demoted the 25-year-old outfielder to Triple-A Oklahoma City after the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline passed.
That was not the Dodgers’ preferred course of action, however, as the club informed Puig they were attempting to trade him prior to the deadline. While there was reported interest from the Chicago White Sox, a deal never manifested.
More recently, it was reported the Dodgers rejected trade offers for Puig. Since being sent to Oklahoma City, Puig has largely been a model citizen and teammate.
There was a miscalculation on his end by posting a series of videos to Snapchat that showed Oklahoma City players drinking while on a party bus.
After multiple weeks of strong play, Puig was placed on revocable waivers on Sunday in a move that was largely procedural.
According to Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball, Puig was claimed on waivers:
sources: puig has been claimed on waivers. dodgers can try to work out a deal with that team, if they can.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) August 30, 2016
According to ESPN’s Antonio Puesan, the Boston Red Sox put the claim in on Puig:
Yasiel Puig claimed by Red Sox (Not officially confirmed)
— Antonio Puesán (@antoniopuesan) August 30, 2016
If the Red Sox did claim Puig, they have 48.5 hours to negotiate a trade with the Dodgers. If an agreement can’t be reached, Los Angeles can pull Puig off waivers. Of course, it’s plausible the Red Sox claimed Puig to simply block him.
The polarizing outfielder said during an interview with ESPN’s Marly Rivera that he was not surprised to have been placed on waivers. In 18 games with Oklahoma City, Puig is batting .369/.414/.631 with three doubles, one triple, four home runs and 12 RBI.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was noncommittal when recently asked if Puig figured to be among the players called up once active rosters expand on Sept. 1.
