By José Alejandro Rodríguez Zas
On September 27, 2019, the Cuban player Yasiel Puig He played his last major league game, so far, wearing the Cleveland Indians uniform, in a game against the Washington Nationals, which ended with a loss of his team with a score of 8-2.
In that game, «Caballo Loco» went 3-0 and missed on a line to right field, on account of two balls without strikes, at the hands of the stellar Dominican outfielder Juan Soto, when swinging a slider at 82 mph thrown by pitcher Hunter Strickland, in his last official MLB shift.
Since then, Puig has not stepped onto a Major League field again, although it was intended in the 2020 season, but without success. In this 2021, there was no concrete intention on the part of the different MLB franchises to have their services and the last thing the Cuban could play was in the Mexican Baseball League with El Águila de Veracruz of the Aztec summer circuit.
In this tournament, Puig helped his team qualify for the postseason as fourth place in the South Zone, with a balance of 35-31, but could not advance much in the playoffs. In 62 games played, the Cienfuegos batted .312 average, with a total of 64 hits, 12 of them doubles and 10 home runs, in addition to 43 RBIs. In the postseason, he hit .350 with seven RBIs and one home run.
In seven seasons in the majors with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians, the 30-year-old Puig is hitting .277, with 834 hits in 3,015 times at bat, including 159 doubles, 21 triples and 132 home runs, plus 415 RBIs and 441 runs scored, 79 stolen bases and a .348 / .475 / .823 offensive line (OBP / SLG / OPS).
However, despite his talent, his complicated character and his salary demands have complicated his return to the MLB. Recently, he joined the Tigres de Aragua of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League and was very close to joining the team for the 2021-2022 season, but for financial reasons the agreement was not finalized, as reported on his Twitter account journalist Jean Hernández.
However, in the last hours, Cuban sports journalist Francys Romero reported on his social networks about the possibility of a return of Yasiel Puig to professional baseball, this time in the Dominican League (LIDOM).
“There is a great possibility that Yasiel Puig will return with us this winter,” he told Francys, at press conference, the General Manager of the East Bulls of LIDOM, Raymond Abreu.
Puig played for the Toros del Este in 2020 and batted .231 (13-3) in five games played with the team at the close of the qualifying stage, with a double, an RBI and three runs scored, in addition to six strikeouts and seven free walks and an offensive line of .500 / .308 / .808. Then, in the seven-game semi-final, he went 1-for-25 (.240) with three doubles, one RBI and one scored, three strikeouts and the same number of walks, plus an offensive line of .345 / .360 / .705.
Although the news has not yet been confirmed, it is encouraging to know that the team leadership has Puig in their plans for this season and we hope to see him return to LIDOM with the Toros del Este, but this time since the beginning of the campaign and, who knows, if his return to MLB comes sooner rather than later.