Keep in mind that this article was written on July 12th, not August 5th.
To quote Stephen A. Smith, it’s blasphemous that Puig hasn’t signed to a team yet. The last team that he was on was the Cleveland Indians, when he was involved in the three team trade that sent star pitcher Trevor Bauer to the Reds.
Now, I get that he can be a problem in the clubhouse, but he’s a good enough player to be signed already. He has a pretty decent bat and can hit for power. But, most importantly, his fielding is off the charts. One of his most memorable plays in the field, in my opinion, was when he was still on the Dodgers and they played the Rockies at Coors Field. He made an epic throw from, basically, the right-center field wall and got the runner at third on the fly. If you look it up on YouTube, you’ll see how great of a play it is. Personally, it’s probably the top 3 best outfield assists I’ve ever seen.
Over the past few months, he’s had some offers including the Orioles and the Giants. Additionally, he reportedly linked to the Red Sox. However, I think none of these teams will sign him. I actually have three teams on my radar. Those teams are the Blue Jays, Pirates and Angels. So, out of those three, the place that I think will sign Puig will be the… Pittsburgh Pirates.
You might be thinking to yourself, man why in the world would he sign with Pittsburgh. Hear me out for a second. They only have four outfielders on their 40-man roster right now (that might change because of the new roster changes this year) and their only right fielder, Gregory Polanco, is inconsistent. Last year was one of his worst, putting up a .242 average, 6 home runs and 17 RBI’s. To be fair, he has had some shoulder injuries throughout the 2018 and 2019 seasons. With this signing, Puig can add that power at the plate and that masterful glove in right. Furthermore, if you add the switch-hitting duo of Josh Bell and Bryan Reynolds, they could be a team to give that crowded NL Central a run for its money.
I know he would look weird in gold and black, but trust me. If the Pirates front office can somehow pull this off, there might be a light at the end of tunnel for the Steel City in the next couple years.
Sources: MLB.com, youtube.com, cbssports.com