Yasiel Puig reported to Triple-A Oklahoma City five days after being demoted by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Optional waivers took 72 hours to clear, then Puig was granted additional leeway by the organization.
It took the 25-year-old outfielder all of two days to make national headlines. Puig went 2-for-4 with three RBIs in his first career Triple-A game. He then was 0-for-3 with one strikeout and one walk the following night. Oklahoma City dropped both games.
After Tuesday’s loss, Puig and several of his Oklahoma City teammates danced to loud music in the clubhouse and later that evening on a party bus.
Their exploits were documented by Puig in a series of videos that were uploaded to his Snapchat account, quickly going viral.
“I was surprised,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said when asked for his opinion on the matter.
“We’re going to take care of things. His goal is and should be to continue to be a better baseball player. So we’ll handle it.” In statement released by the Dodgers on Tuesday, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the club was “disappointed” in Puig’s judgment and that of others involved.
The night out has seemingly galvanized the team, with Oklahoma City defeating Triple-A Iowa (Chicago Cubs affiliate) on Tuesday and Wednesday. What’s more, Puig slugged a home run, his first for OKC, in the first inning of Tuesday’s victory.
