The Los Angeles Dodgers pulled off one of the more surprising trades of the past offseason, parting with outfielders Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig, pitcher Alex Wood and infielder Kyle Farmer in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds that netted prospects Jeter Downs and Josiah Gray.
With the transaction marked the end of an era, as Puig’s six-year stint in the organization officially came to a close. His name had often circulated in trade speculation, but the Dodgers had struggled to move him up until this past December.
Their motivation — and success — last winter seemingly hinged on Puig being set to become a free agent at the conclusion of the 2019 season.
Now a member of the Reds, Puig is motivated to show the Dodgers that they made a mistake trading him, via Jon Tayler of Sports Illustrated:
“Now I have to do my part to show that they made a mistake,” Puig says. “I’ll show them what I could have done for them if they’d kept me.”
Puig went into 2019 coming off one of his best seasons at the Major League level in which he hit .267/.327/.494 with 21 doubles, 23 home runs and 63 RBI over 444 plate appearances (125 games).
After hitting a rough patch during 2016, which saw him demoted to the Minors, Puig managed to turn his career around in recent years and was a vital part of the Dodgers’ respective 2017 and 2018 World Series runs.
Despite the success, Puig was said to be open to a trade this winter due to his disapproval of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts’ platoon strategy. He’s looked forward to being an everyday player with the Reds.
Even though he’s now wearing a different uniform, Puig has fond memories of Dodgers fans and noted that he will miss their support the most.
But as for giving the Dodgers any sort of remorse over the trade, Puig has yet to truly capitalize there. He slugged a home run in his first game against the Dodgers, off Clayton Kershaw no less, and made an impressive catch Sunday.
Appearing in six of the seven games the Reds played against the Dodgers this season, Puig went a combined 5-for-22 with three runs scored, one home run, four RBI and six strikeouts.
