Reporter Francis Romero said on the 9th (Korea Standard Time), “Some major league clubs, including the Tampa Bay Rays, are showing interest in Puig.”
Puig, who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers along with Ryu Hyun-jin, is a slugger who represented the Major League Baseball.
In 2013, his debut season, he hit .319 with 19 home runs, and since then, he has been impressive by hitting double-digit home runs for seven consecutive seasons.
Puig, who played for the Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, and Cleveland Indians from 2013 to 2019, posted a batting average of 0.277 with 132 homers, 415 RBIs, 441 runs, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of 0.823 in 861 games.
However, he was branded as a “troublemaker” due to his frequent problems both inside and outside the stadium. As he entered the free agent market after the end of the 2019 season, he was shunned by Major League teams.
Puig, who played in the Dominican Republic and Mexico, signed a one-year, $1 million contract with Kiwoom in 2022 and came to the KBO League. He hit 0.277 with 21 home runs, 73 RBIs, 65 runs and an OPS of 0.841 in 126 regular season games, and led his team to the runner-up of the Korean Series in the postseason.
Kiwoom sought to renew his contract with Puig, but closed the negotiation table when it was revealed that he was involved in illegal gambling betting in the past. There are many problems in many ways, but it is still competitive in the field.
Puig is currently playing in the Venezuelan Winter League, where he has shown remarkable performance with a batting average of 0.360 with 12 homers and 32 RBIs in 48 games. Accordingly, Major League clubs are considering recruiting Puig to strengthen their offense capability.
If Puig succeeds in signing a contract with a major league club, he will be able to make the big league stage for the first time in five years. 경마