Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig was removed from the team’s 8-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds Tuesday night, and a perceived lack of effort was the reasoning provided by manager Dave Roberts.
According to Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times, the 25-year-old Cuban was yanked after getting only a single on a ball he hit off the wall.
Per Alanna Rizzo of SportsNet LA, Roberts believed Puig would have ended up with a double had he not admired his hit:
After the game, Puig agreed with his manager’s decision, according to Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register:
Puig often found himself in the doghouse during Don Mattingly’s tenure as the Dodgers manager, and he can’t seem to shake that status even with Roberts now in charge.
The talented slugger has had an up-and-down season thus far, hitting .247 with five home runs and 19 RBI for a Dodgers team that has struggled to remain above .500.
He burst onto the scene in 2013, hitting .319 with 19 home runs in 104 games and finishing second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting before being named an All-Star the following season.
The past two campaigns haven’t gone nearly as well for Puig, though, and his status as one of baseball’s top rising stars has deteriorated.
Puig is under contract for two more seasons beyond 2016 before becoming arbitration-eligible in 2019, per Spotrac.com.
That means he is entrenched unless the Dodgers consummate a trade, but doing so may not be easy due to a sharp decline in value and the perception that he may not be a team player.
Puig’s understanding of Roberts’ decision showed some maturity and growth, but until he proves capable of playing the game the right way on a consistent basis, it may be difficult for Roberts to fully trust him.
That would be much easier if he was displaying All-Star form, but Puig has been largely ordinary, and he can ill afford to be anything less than a true professional if he wants to maintain his spot in the lineup.
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