Entering his fifth year with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, Yasiel Puig looked to bounce back from an injury-shortened 2015 campaign in which he appeared in a career-worst 79 games and posted career lows in nearly every offensive category.
The Dodgers kicked off the 2016 season at Petco Park against the San Diego Padres and dominated on both sides of the ball, outscoring San Diego, 25-0, in a three-game sweep. Puig played a huge part in the club’s success as he sported a .600/.692/1.300 slash line with two triples and one home run through the Opening Series.
He ended April on a modest note, posting a .710 on-base plus slugging percentage with seven extra-base hits in 96 plate appearances. In the following month, Puig’s numbers dipped at an alarming rate.
Over 27 games (100 plate appearances), he batted .229/.260/.333 with four extra-base hits. Shortly after, Puig suffered another hamstring strain, an injury that’s plagued him in recent seasons, that forced him to the 15-day disabled list in early-June.
He returned to action in roughly three weeks and strung together four multi-hit games to close out the month. Puig continued his hot streak into July, where he significantly improved his walk rate — batting .283/.389/.417 with five doubles through the course of the month.
Despite his success, the Dodgers swung a trade with the Oakland Athletics for Rich Hill and Josh Reddick, with the latter supplanting Puig as the everyday right fielder. The deal came during failed attempts to trade Puig.
As a result, the 25-year-old found himself demoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City for the first time in his career after the front office couldn’t find a taker for his services.
In 75 plate appearances, Puig slashed .348/.400/.594 with four homers and three doubles. His improved behavior and performance earned him a September promotion to Los Angeles, where Puig picked up where he left off in the Minors.
Over the final 23 games of the regular season, he posted his best OPS of the year (.900) and tacked on eight additional extra-base hits (four home runs, four doubles).
To little surprise, Puig was featured on both postseason rosters and made three starts against left-handed pitchers. He appeared in 10 overall postseason games and tallied four singles in 22 trips to the plate.
2016 Highlight
On April 6, in a 7-0 victory against the Padres, Puig went 3-for-4 and clubbed his first home run of the season.
It was Puig’s first three-hit contest of the year — one of four such feats during the 2016 season. Then in his second game back from Oklahoma City, Puig connected on a three-run homer to help the Dodgers to a win.
2017 Outlook
Puig remains under contract through 2018 and is owed just $14 million over the next two seasons. Despite his resurgence in September, there are no guarantees that he’ll be a member of the Dodgers come Opening Day.
Prior to the waiver trade deadline in August, Puig was nearly dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers for outfielder Ryan Braun. Though the deal never consummated, many in the industry expect the clubs to revisit talks this offseason.
In addition, the Chicago White Sox are said to be interested in Puig and could look to acquire him in a potential trade for one of their stars players (e.g., Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, Todd Frazier).
Then again, the Dodgers could just as well retain Puig if they don’t find the value they’re seeking in return. That wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing, as he was one of their most productive hitters against left-handed pitching in 2016 (.471 slugging, .784 OPS).
