Dodgers News: Yasiel Puig Remaining Calm Amidst Trade Rumors

It is the time of the year for Major League Baseball fans when the unexpected happens. For each respective fan, a sense of hope overcomes them, patiently waiting for their ball club to make a move towards becoming legitimate World Series contenders. For many teams, this also is the point in the season where they want to readjust their approach and become sellers.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are clearly in a buying mode. With the highest payroll in baseball, gambling on a trade could be the difference. While being linked to a lot of names in the trade market, the front office is very careful with their approach about making a trade that would be in the best interest of the Dodgers.

The latest name that the Dodgers have reportedly made available on the market is Yasiel Puig. The Cuban sensation has been in the midst of a mediocre season, filled with injuries and time away from the Dodgers. Puig was asked about his assessment of this season and the 24-year-old responded with an immediate answer, via Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times:

The season hasn’t turned out the way I wanted.”

In 53 games, Puig is batting .253/.327/.423, with six home runs and 22 RBIs. After missing time in the 2015 campaign to both hamstring and hand issues, the outfielder hasn’t been able to get comfortable at the plate.

Puig remained calm when asked about the possibility of being traded and left it up to the front office:

I’ll play anywhere,” Puig said. “I came to the United States [from Cuba] to play baseball. Baseball is the same anywhere. If they want to trade me, that’s their decision. I can’t do anything about that.”

For any baseball player, it is difficult to imagine being traded from your first Major League team. In fact, Dodgers Chairman Mark Walter recently came to the defense of Puig in stating that no one should be giving up on him just yet. When Puig was noted of what Walters had to say, he remained thankful and determined to prove his value:

I appreciate that,” he said. “I’ll continue working hard so the owner of the team can continue to believe in me.”

A lot of the rumors may just be speculation, but it is safe to say that no one is safe before the July 31 trade deadline and that a potential postseason team just may take a chance on advancing into the elite level.