The Los Angeles Dodgers recently made their first big trade of the offseason, sending Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, Alex Wood and Kyle Farmer to the Cincinnati Reds for Homer Bailey and two prospects.
The trade helped the Dodgers save money while also reinforcing their farm system. But losing Puig, who was a fan favorite in Los Angeles, has been understandably difficult for many fans.
Perhaps no player in all of baseball in more polarizing than Puig as he was beloved by Dodgers faithful but despised by just about everyone else. Particularly in the Bay Area where the rival San Francisco Giants play.
Puig and Giants ace Madison Bumgarner epitomized their rivalry. They got into heated exchanges on multiple occasions in recent seasons, beginning in 2014 when Puig hit a home run off Bumgarner and admired his blast a little too long for the left-hander’s liking.
Now that Puig is no longer on the Giants, their broadcaster, Duane Kuiper, admitted that he is going to miss him playing in the National League West and the drama he and Bumgarner created, via the Murph and Mac Podcast:
“In some ways, I’m disappointed Puig is out of the division because we did like the drama. We liked the Bumgarner-Puig stuff. It’s just only natural to dislike, in a sports sense, players and teams. And it builds and it kind of grinds the rivalry into what we like, and now that’s gone. It will be interesting when he comes in for three days with the Reds.”
Puig and the other former Dodgers will be making their return to Los Angeles when the Reds visit Dodger Stadium from April 15-17. They surely will receive a large ovation for the contributions they made to the organization over the years.
The Reds then travel to the Giants for a series at AT&T Park from May 10-12. It will be interesting to see what kind of treatment Puig gets that weekend and if his rivalry with Bumgarner continues despite playing for a team outside the NL West.
