Yasiel Puig’s name has been floated in trade speculation this week, but CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reports that the Dodgers have told the outfielder that they don’t plan to trade him this season.
Puig asked the Dodgers about his status after he heard about a rumor which linked him to the Reds. According to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, the rumored return package included Aroldis Chapman and Johnny Cueto. That would be quite a blockbuster, but it turns out it was never actually discussed. Meanwhile, Heyman hears that the Dodgers “are not having any conversations about Puig and are not interested in moving him.”
Puig missed a large chunk of the early part of the season due to hamstring injury and has had a pretty quiet year when healthy enough to play, batting .259 with six home runs and a .759 OPS. Still, he’s just 24 years old and remains under team control through 2019. He might not be the most popular guy in the Dodgers’ clubhouse, but you don’t give up on this sort of talent unless there’s a monster deal coming down the pike. That scenario hasn’t presented itself yet.
