Ya-see-ya-later Puig?

          

          It’s hard to believe that we are now two years removed from the “summer of Puig” phenomena. Since his major league call up in June of 2013, Puig has garnered the national spot light with both his on-and-off the field antics. Puig promptly dazzled the national baseball spectrum with his cannon of a right arm, sizzling bat and charming naivety that summer. Puig’s energy was infectious on his Dodger teammates, as the team would reap great success shortly after his arrival to the big leagues. Over the course of 48 games shortly following Puig’s addition, the Dodgers went 40-8, and quickly assumed the role of top contender for the National League pennant.

While Puig was erratic at times with his behavior and on-field execution (i.e. missing the cut-off man), Dodgers nation certainly looked past his rookie mistakes and relished in the show that was the 22-year-old-Phenom. Puig finished his rookie campaign with a .319 average, hitting 19 home runs and driving in 42 runs over 104 games. Puig would be runner-up for the NL Rookie of the Year award, trailing only Marlins ace Jose Fernandez, who went 12-6 with a 2.19 ERA during his rookie season.

In just his first year of major league action, the city of Los Angeles embraced their Cuban superstar. The Dodgers front office and fan base had found their franchise cornerstone for the years to come, or had they?

Since his breakout season, the “Cuban missile” has lost some velocity. While Puig was selected as an NL All-Star in his sophomore season, his average would stoop below the .300 mark. Puig’s power production would diminish as well. Puig would hit only 16 home runs and drive in 69 RBI in over his entire 2014 regular season.

While it wasn’t necessarily a disappointing second year for Puig, he did fail to meet the superstar expectations that the baseball world placed on him after his standout rookie campaign. Heading into that season, Puig bore an almost MVP-or-bust mentality in evaluating his performance.

            The decline of Puig’s production has continued till this point in the season. This campaign has been an injury-riddled one for Puig, as a result he has only suited up for 48 games this season. And in those games, Puig has mounted a very mediocre .265 average, with only five home runs and 19 RBI’s to his credit.

As hard as it is for me to say this, as both a Dodger fan and Puig supporter, the guy seems like a bit of a liability right now.

            I understand that he’s only 24-years-old, with plenty of upside still for the remainder of his career. I also understand that everyone is bound to have an injury-ridden season or two over the course of their career. But what I just can’t grasp is Puig’s lack of development as a teammate and common sense outfielder.

What used to be a “cute mistake” in air-mailing a ball over the cut-off man is now just plain annoying. Making simple mental errors like that is bad enough in the regular season, but do that in October and let a baserunner advance an extra base… we could be talking about staying alive in a series, or being eliminated from the postseason.

Despite being in his third season of MLB action, Puig still has the audacity to continually banter with his teammates and cause distress within the clubhouse. On several occasions, Puig has also been known to arrive late to the ball park on game day. Showing up late to games is something you leave to little leaguers being escorted in a Dodge Caravan; it shouldn’t be an issue for a professional athlete with plenty of travel assets.

            Despite dropping their most recent series against Milwaukee, the Dodgers (54-42) are in a very formidable position for it being only July. LA finds themselves in the driver’s seat in the NL West, three games ahead of the Giants. The Dodgers also find themselves atop or near the top of almost every published MLB Power Ranking released by ESPN.

With the postseason looking like a real possibility for the boys in blue, LA should be looking to make some moves by the July 31 trade deadline. Puig could prove to be a very valuable bargaining chip in prospective trade negotiations.

            While Dodgers management and personnel may be fed up with Puig’s antics and lack of production, plenty of MLB franchises would love nothing more than to add the 24-year-old slugger to their roster.

            The Dodgers are in desperate need of another solid starting pitcher, it’s no secret. With Puig in their back pocket, LA can chase some of the biggest options available on the mound during this deadline-negotiation period.

            There are rumors that Puig could end up in either a Mets or Phillies uniform come August 1, in exchange for some top-tier hurlers.

Just imagine a scenario in which the Dodgers picked up Mets superstar pitcher Matt Harvey, while giving up Puig in a trade. Can you imagine going into a playoff series with Kershaw, Greinke, and Harvey spearheading your rotation? Yikes. Nothing I’d love to see more than the “Dark Knight” (as Harvey has been dubbed) trotting out to the mound in a postseason match up.

If the Dodgers were to ship Puig to the “City of Brotherly Love”, they could acquire the services of veteran lefty Cole Hamels. While Hamels isn’t having a prolific Cy Young-caliber season on the mound, he brings stellar postseason experience which is invaluable to any team contending for the Commissioner’s trophy.  

In the case that Puig isn’t of enough value to reel in either Hamels or Harvey, the Dodgers should seek out some reliable arms for the bullpen. Dodgers fans have become accustomed to late-game, postseason heartbreak over the past several seasons. This is thanks largely in part to a traditionally-faulty bullpen that never fails to let down a championship-hungry fan base.

And don’t fret about the idea of losing Puig in the short-term. While in the long-run Puig may very well go on to have a hall-of-fame career and make me eat me words, he could also continue his descent into mediocrity. For the short-term, we can depend on our upward-trending centerfielder Joc Pederson and the resurrected Andre Ethier, who is undergoing quite the bounce back season for LA.

It’s hard to think that a rebuilding franchise would completely oppose the idea of negotiating for Puig’s services. While he does come with some off-the-field baggage and mental lapses, he can provide that “lightning in a bottle” to any major league lineup.

Can LA use their Cuban bargaining chip to get them back to the ‘ship?