The Atlanta Braves need to sign a veteran outfielder to serve as a backup in the outfield for the everyday trio of Ronald Acuña Jr, Michael Harris II, and offseason acquisition Jarred Kelenic.
Here at Braves Today, we've dove into this topic already, from Jake writing about some of the different options in general and Kyle making diving into a reunion with Kevin Pillar specifically.
But I've got an idea for a MLB veteran that could not only be a dominant force if everything breaks right, but should also be rather affordable (which is relevant, as Atlanta's rather close to the third CBT threshold and its associated MLB Draft penalties.)
Formers Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Yasiel Puig. Let's talk about it.
Arguments for signing Yasiel Puig
Puig's been playing in Venezuela this winter with Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr for Tiburones de La Guaira, and he's been dominant: a .418/.518/.846 slashline with 10 homers and 23 RBIs in 26 games, with almost as many walks (16) as strikeouts (17).
Puig actually leads the team in homers, with the next two players two off his total despite playing in fifty-three games each. (Ronald's in fourth place, with seven, in his 21 games).
Additionally, the presence of Acuña on the roster forced Puig into playing mostly left field, mitigating the concerns that the majority of his major league time (761 of his 826 defensive games) were in right field. Puig, in his 41 outfield games this winter between Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, where he played 18 games this winter, has committed zero errors and showed off that he still has his massive cannon of a right arm, picking up three outfield assists.
If he can competently play both outfield corners, provide power off the bench, and has a good pre-existing relationship with Ronald Acuña Jr, then the lower financial cost of signing Puig to a non-guaranteed deal is something Atlanta's front office should explore.
Arguments against signing Yasiel Puig
But there's multiple reasons any deal for Puig would be a non-guaranteed minor league deal.
For starters, Puig hasn't played in Major League Baseball since 2019, when he combined for 149 games between Cincinnati and Cleveland. Puig was notably suspended multiple games for his actions during a benches-clearing brawl that season between the Reds and the Pirates, one of several situations that saw Puig's temper flare while benches cleared that season.
Becoming a free agent that offseason, Puig was set to sign with Atlanta in July of 2020 but a positive COVID-19 test ended the team's efforts to add the Cuban-born slugger to the roster.
And then the legal troubles began. Puig was accused in late 2020 of sexually assaulting a female acquaintance in 2018, a charge that was later settled out of court after he sat out the entire 2021 MLB season. Puig has denied wrongdoing in the case.
And then the Department of Justice came knocking. After playing in Korea for the 2022 season, Puig was charged with lying to federal investigators in November of 2022 when they interviewed him about his involvement in an illegal sports betting scheme, one where he lost almost $300,000 in just a few months during the spring of 2019. Per ESPN reporting, no bets were known to be placed on baseball, but almost 900 bets were placed on tennis, football, and basketball games by Puig.
Puig then later changed his plea to "not guilty" in late-December, with his attorneys claiming that during the interview, "Mr. Puig, who has a third-grade education, had untreated mental-health issues, and did not have his own interpreter or criminal legal counsel with him." The statement indicated that new information had been uncovered that would exonerate Puig, but the Department of Justice added a second charge of obstruction of justice and that trial is scheduled for early 2024, per reports.
So what's the likelihood of Atlanta signing Puig?
At this point, very low.
With the legal case pending, it's not known whether Puig would be allowed to play in MLB were he to be signed. Major League Baseball has not investigated the case, as Puig was a free agent when the charges were first levied, and they have not yet levied discipline against Puig.
Additionally, while the Braves have stuck by Marcell Ozuna through his two arrests - a May 2021 felony arrest for strangulation, later dropped, and an August 2022 arrest for DUI, which he pleaded "no contest" to and paid a $1000 fine - there's a distinct difference in the two cases:
Marcell Ozuna was already a member of the organization.
The most likely outcome in this scenario is, as we mentioned above, either a veteran signing for spring training or Forrest Wall as the 4th outfielder to open the season.
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