Report: Yasiel Puig doesn't fly with Dodgers after learning he'd be traded or demoted
The Dodgers did not trade Puig before the trade deadline, so the plan is to send him to the minors
Despite plenty of rumors, the Dodgers did not trade outfielder Yasiel Puig before the Monday non-waiver trade deadline. Puig remains with the organization, though he is not actually with the big club right now.
According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, Puig "stormed off" after being informed he will be either traded or demoted to the minors Monday. He did not accompany the team on their flight to Denver for their upcoming series with the Rockies. However, there's also another version of events:
Sources: Yasiel Puig was instructed not to report to stadium or plane today and did not. Told he would be demoted to minors or traded.
— Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) August 1, 2016
So we've got dueling claims here. The Dodgers camp is saying Puig left in a huff, while the Puig camp says he was instructed not to join the team in advance of his removal from the active roster via trade or demotion. That it has come to this does not speak well of the team-player relationship, to say the least. That's the case regardless of which version is the more accurate one.
Also, Puig's agent Adam Katz released the following statement:
The Dodgers acquired outfielder Josh Reddick in a trade with the Athletics earlier month. Reddick joins Puig, Joc Pederson,Scott Van Slyke, and Andrew Toles as outfielders on Los Angeles' active 25-man roster. Howie Kendrick and Enrique Hernandez have outfield experience, too.
Of course, trading or demoting Puig would not even be considered if his performance and durability had not taken such a big step back. He's hitting only .260/.320/.386 (93 OPS+) this season and has been battling nagging hamstring problems since last year.
As far as we know, there is nothing in Puig's contract that allows him to block a demotion to the minors. He doesn't have enough service time to do that, either. Puig has to report to the minors. If he doesn't, the Dodgers could have grounds to void the remaining $20 million or so on his contract.
If the "storming off" narrative turns out to be true, then a suspension might be forthcoming. If it's not, then demotion or perhaps a trade during the August waiver period is the next step. If nothing else, Puig's future with the Los Angeles Dodgers seems questionable.
