![Puig with his hair dyed in Indians colors. [image source: Erik Drost- Flickr]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2020/1/29/660x290/b_502x220x82/puig-with-his-hair-dyed-in-indians-colors-image-source-erik-drost-flickr_2391251.jpg "Puig with his hair dyed in Indians colors. [image source: Erik Drost- Flickr]")
The 2019-20 Major League Baseball offseason has gone by fast with the top players already off the board. Going into the new year, the best players available were Josh Donaldson, Nicholas Castellanos and Yasiel Puig. The first two got four-year deals each with Donaldson signing with the Twins and Castellanos signing with the Reds which left Puig as the best remaining free agent for teams to sign. Here are the teams that could sign him.
Resume
Since he defected from Cuba, Puig has been in the major leagues for seven years. He's spent majority of his career with the Dodgers but spent 2019 split with the Reds and Indians.
In 2019, he slashed .267/.327/.458 with 24 HR, 84 RBIs, 19 SB and 30 doubles. In his seven-year career, he holds a slash line of .277/.348/.475 with an OPS of .823 and 132 HR. He's 29 years old.
Puig's value
While Puig can provide a team with a ton of talent, there are concerns that come with signing him. He does have behavioural issues which was seen during his time with the Dodgers as he was demoted to the minors for poor behaviour.
Puig is also a player that is known to get under opponents' skin which at times has resulted in brawls. While he has been involved in brawls, he's a player that you want on your side as he's a tough guy and always has his teammate's backs which was seen on his final day as a member of the Reds.
Offensively he's been mediocre the past few years and would be an ideal guy to bat in the sixth spot on a contending team. Defensively he has a cannon of an arm in which he possibly has the strongest arm of any right fielder in the major leagues.
Regarding a contract, he should be able to get himself a multi-year deal but he may not be able to get a ton of money.
He should be able to land a two or even a three year deal for $20-30 million with the potential to get a little more. Also whichever team signs him, you can bet that he'll dye his hair the same colors the team has as he did as a member of the Dodgers, Reds and Indians.
Best fits
Toronto Blue Jays
Despite finishing with the fifth-worst record in 2019, the Jays have added players, specifically to their rotation.
On the offensive side, they've only added one impact player in corner infielder Travis Shaw. While the additions they have made help their team, they still need more additions in order to maybe contend for a wild card spot in 2020. Signing Puig would improve those chances.
If Puig were to control the right side of the outfield at Rogers Centre, Randal Grichuk would then slide over to center and be the captain of the outfield. This would allow Teosacar Hernandez to be a full-time DH where he could focus solely on his hitting as he's considered a liability defensively. With Hernandez being the DH, this would slide Rowdy Tellez to a bench role where he could be used as a pinch hitter in key situations.
San Francisco Giants
The Giants have struggled in recent years to form a major league calibre outfield trio which has forced them to use replacement level players in the outfield. While they aren't contenders, it wouldn't hurt to add an impact outfielder to bring fans to the games and Puig would do just that. Puig, with his extraordinary arm strength, would also be a good fit with the spacious outfield that Oracle Park is.
If the Giants were able to land Puig, current right fielder Steven Duggar would be the new left fielder which makes Alex Dickerson a bench player. Still, even with Puig, the Giants would still have a less than ideal outfield combination of Duggar, Mike Yastrzemski and Puig.
Texas Rangers
The Rangers have tried to make a splash this offseason but haven't really done so. They missed out on Anthony Rendon who signed within their division with the Angels, they were barely in on Gerrit Cole despite being linked to him and failed to sign Nicholas Castellanos who even said he wanted to play with the Rangers. They could save their fortunes by bringing Puig to the Lone Star state.
From reading Rangers news and reports, you can kind of tell between the lines that they're looking for players with versatility. Puig can't really play any other position other than RF so Puig would be the right fielder which would shift Joey Gallo to play first. This would mean that Ronald Guzman would be a bench bat which he is better suited for.
Cleveland Indians
Puig was dealt to the Indians a few days prior to the trade deadline in order to help them make a playoff push but the Indians failed to make the playoffs. In 49 games spent with the Indians, Puig slashed .297/.377/.423 while playing solid defence in right. The Indians may not see themselves as a fit for Puig as they're trying to cut salary but if they feel they can get him at a good price, they may be willing to sign him as he would make the team better and more competitive.
If the Indians were able to bring back Puig, Franmil Reyes would play left field which would be better for Cleveland as he's known as a defensive liability and Jordan Luplow would shift to a bench role which is what he's suited for.
