Atlanta Braves: why signing Yasiel Puig doesn’t work
Puig should be a good fit for the Atlanta Braves, so why not get him?
In truth, it is a bit surprising that a National League club hasn’t already snapped up Yasiel Puig to be their DH this Summer. Puig’s been a popular twitter topic among Atlanta Braves fans, too, but there’s a couple of reasons why the colorful former All-Star might not be the fit that everyone seems to think he ought to be.
Puig isn’t a bad hitter. After making a big splash upon arrival in LA in 2013 and 2014, he seems to have settled into a “norm” of having roughly a .270-.275 average with .800 OPS.
He’s still got a cannon for an arm, but with the occasional epic defensive lapse, he leans more to the side of “liability” over “ability” and that’s why DH is the right way to think about him right now.
But here’s the problem for him: Atlanta already has a Yasiel Puig on the roster. His name is Marcell Ozuna.
Ozuna’s lifetime batting average is .272. He slugs around .450-.500 and he’ll OPS near .800. Like Puig, he’s also a right-handed hitter who strikes out around 21% of the time.
The difference? Ozuna will go yard more often than Puig and he’s a bit better in the outfield. That accounts for WAR values that are in the ~2.5 range while Puig hovers in the 1.0-to-1.5 range.
The Braves also threw an $18 million contract at Ozuna. At least that will be pro-rated down significantly.
Think the Atlanta Braves need more than just Ozuna? Okay: there’s Austin Riley, another RH hitting slugger. Or Adam Duvall.
Sure – both of these might end up at third base or left field respectively, but there is such a thing as being too RH-heavy in your lineup.
To solve that, the Braves have the switch-hitter Johan Camargo and LHH Nick Markakis.
Ultimately it comes down to this: Puig would want to be a starter – even as a DH – and the Atlanta Braves wouldn’t have anything to offer him more than one AB every other game as a late-inning pinch hitter.
With the Universal DH rule this Summer, even those AB’s aren’t going to be common since there’s now no substitutions necessary for the pitcher’s spot in the lineup.
Might there be some interest from Atlanta? Sure – any talented hitter would garner some sort of consideration. But there’s probably a lot less interest from Puig’s end because he’s still just 29-1/2 years old and trying to showcase himself for another contract.
A 30 PA season won’t do that for him.
There’s also the tight 40-man roster that Atlanta would have to work around to get Puig activated… and they already have to make some decisions on that topic regarding players they already own like Felix Hernandez and Charlie Culberson… among others.
So useless Puig just wants someplace to swing a bat occasionally this Summer… sorry, y’all: the Braves are just not the place for him.