The Los Angeles Dodgers decision to demote Yasiel Puig to Triple-A Oklahoma City after failing to trade him at the non-waiver trade deadline was met with plenty of scrutiny and surprise. Optioning Puig was said to be related to off-the-field and behavioral matters.
So when Puig posted a series of videos on his Snapchat account that showed him drinking and partying with teammates after a 3-2 loss on Monday night, it raised some eyebrows.
The night out didn’t appear to have a negative affect on Oklahoma City, however, as they’ve won consecutive games through Wednesday.
In his first game with OKC, Puig went 2-for-4 with one double and three RBIs in a 6-4 loss. On Monday he was 0-for-3 with one walk and one strikeout.
In his first plate appearance of Tuesday’s game, the 25-year-old at least momentarily quieted his critics with a solo home run.
Video of Puig’s first Triple-A home run is provided via the Oklahoma City Twitter account:
WATCH: Yasiel Puig hits his first HR with OKC and @B_Rock_one5 joins the #PitchersWhoRake club! #ITFDBOKC pic.twitter.com/ODlvJSN9VD
— OKC Dodgers (@okc_dodgers) August 10, 2016
Puig did not appear in Wednesday’s game and is 4-for-11 with one home run and five RBIs since being sent down. He hit .260/.320/.386 with seven home runs and 34 RBIs in 81 games with the Dodgers.
At this point it’s difficult to assess whether Puig has played his last game with the Dodgers. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman expressed his disappointment in Puig’s and his teammates’ actions, and manager Dave Roberts said he was surprised by the videos.
