Coming off a subpar season and rocky winter, Yasiel Puig said he was focused on bouncing back in 2016. Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman instructed Puig to lose weight, which the dynamic outfielder successfully did.
Puig reported to Spring Training with a trimmed-down physique and improved work ethic. That didn’t immediately translate to success at the plate during the regular season, as the 25-year-old suffered from the same inconsistency that’s plagued him since 2014.
While Puig appeared to have turned the corner after being reinstated from the disabled list, the Dodgers attempted to trade him prior to the Aug. 1 non-waiver deadline.
Their failed attempt led to Puig getting demoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City. That decision was said to be due off-the-field an behavioral issues.
Since being sent down for the first time in his career, Puig has swung the bat well. On Tuesday he hit his third home run in seven games, with video provided by Oklahoma City Dodgers’ Twitter account:
Yasiel Puig hit his third HR with OKC Tuesday night, and is now batting .481 through seven games! #ITFDBOKC pic.twitter.com/my1DKDmFQ4
— OKC Dodgers (@okc_dodgers) August 17, 2016
Puig is batting .481/.548/.926 with one double, one triple, three homers and 11 RBIs since joining Oklahoma City. He’s had five multi-hit games thus far, playing a key role in a six-game winning streak.
The stretch of play came after Puig posted a series of videos to his Snapchat account showing himself and teammates drinking and singing along to blaring music on a party bus.
