Five Teams Interested in Yasiel Puig
Recent Yasiel Puig rumors show the free agent outfielder is garnering interest from a handful of teams. According to a report Monday from Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, Puig has five teams interested in his services, including the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Miami Marlins, and Baltimore Orioles.
Yasiel Puig is drawing interest from multiple teams, per sources. Red Sox, Yankees, Astros, Marlins and Orioles appear to have varying levels of interest.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) January 4, 2021
Puig, who turned 30 last month, has not played in a major league game in almost a year-and-a-half. The last time he played at the big league level was on September 27th, 2019 as a member of the Cleveland Indians. Although there was interest last offseason, he was never signed by a team.
However, the Atlanta Braves did reach an agreement with Puig. The deal was later called off because Puig contracted the Coronavirus and had to quarantine. Atlanta never expressed interest following that quarantine period. Furthermore, the Braves do not appear to currently have interest in the outfielder either.
Finding the Ideal Fit for Yasiel Puig
All five of the teams listed by Mark Feinsand need outfield help in some way. Most notably the Marlins are a team to watch in regards to Yasiel Puig. Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported on that on his Twitter account this past weekend.
Marlins are looking for a corner outfielder, preferably a right fielder and lefthanded hitter
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 2, 2021
Puig is a right-handed bat, but would give the Marlins some stability in right field. Furthermore, he is of Cuban decent which could be a great marketing tool for the Marlins fanbase given the culture in that area.
Beyond that, the Red Sox and Astros want to add offense in some form. Puig could help both of those clubs with achieving that goal. The Houston Astros are another team to watch especially considering that they potentially could lose three outfielders from last season to free agency this offseason. Those individuals include: Michael Brantley, George Springer, and Josh Reddick.
In addition, the remaining two teams both play in the American League East – the Yankees and Orioles. The Yankees could have interest at the right price, but are still focused on trying to re-sign DJ LeMahieu. As for the Orioles, Baltimore was a team with interest in Puig last offseason. Puig could give the Orioles a veteran presence on a young team.
Final Thoughts
In the end, it is still not a guarantee that Yasiel Puig will land a major league job this offseason. Although, with the current economic conditions around the game, teams are looking for ways to improve their roster at a reasonable amount of money. Puig certainly presents one of those options currently available in free agency.
Main Image: Embed from Getty Images
