Despite the rumor mill churning out Yasiel Puig’s name with plenty of regularity throughout last offseason, he remained with the Los Angeles Dodgers. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and manager Dave Roberts often carried an optimistic tone when discussing Puig.
The club did issue Puig a mandate to lose weight, which they hoped would help him avoid recurring hamstring injuries. Puig obliged, and reported to Spring Training with a slimmer physique, renewed work ethic, and attitude.
But he suffered a hamstring strain in June and endured another inconsistent season. The Dodgers attempted to trade their polarizing outfielder, but were unable to, and demoted him to Triple-A Oklahoma City.