As noted in this very space, Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, who's presently punishing the ball in Triple-A after struggling at the major-league level for most of 2016, was recently claimed on waivers. This isn't unusual, as almost every player is placed on trade waivers at some point after the non-waiver trade deadline.

That Puig was claimed, though, meant that they had an opportunity to work out a trade that would send Puig elsewhere. Puig, 25, still has plenty of upside, and he's proved he can thrive at the highest level. However, his relationship with the Dodgers -- never ideal -- has become especially strained in recent weeks. Thus, trade rumors. As Jon Heyman reports, though, no Puig deal is immediately forthcoming:

Again, it's not certain which team claimed Puig, but the two sides were apparently unable to reach an agreement. That stands to reason, as players with potential but recent struggles tend to yield very different valuations from club to club. So after a claim is put for a player on trade waivers, the two sides have 48 hours to work out a deal. In this instance, that didn't happen, so Puig remains a Dodger. If the Dodgers were to place him on trade waivers again this year, those waivers would become irrevocable, which means that the team claiming Puig gets him automatically. Puig has his concerns and shortcomings, but the Dodgers aren't going to let him go for nothing more than the price of his remaining contract.

This, however, doesn't mean he's going to remain a Dodger long-term. The Dodgers this offseason will be free to shop him without restrictions, and they might do that. This waiver claim presented the Dodgers an opportunity to trade Puig, yes, but it also presented them with an opportunity to gauge the Puig market, at least in the waiver-period environment. What they learned may inform their decision this upcoming winter.

So Puig will remain with the organization that first signed him out of Cuba in 2012, but that may well change before pitchers and catchers report in 2017.