Yasiel Puig Is Back, And The Dodgers Have A Few Things To Figure Out

MLB rosters expanded this week, and The Los Angeles Times that Yasiel Puig will be among the players the Dodgers call up.

Puig was demoted to the minors a month ago after the Dodgers finally got fed up with his attitude and failed to find a suitable trade partner at the deadline, and it certainly seemed like they were hoping to move on from him entirely. Josh Reddick was brought in from Oakland to take Puig’s spot in right field, and Puig being shipped off via a post-deadline waiver claim seemed like an inevitable conclusion to the ongoing melodrama.

Unfortunately for the Dodgers, Reddick has been dog shit in his first month with the team—he’s hit .161/.223/.172 in 87 at-bats—and right field is an even bigger black hole it was when Puig was out there every day. So instead of trading Puig to whichever mystery team reportedly claimed him off waivers a few days ago, the Dodgers have called him back to the big club, a promotion he’s certainly earned with his play at Triple A, where he hit .348 with four homers in 19 games.

Now the Dodgers have a month to figure out what the hell to do about right field. Maybe Puig will keep crushing like he has been in the minors and gift Reddick a permanent spot on the bench, or maybe Reddick will come out of his slump and Puig will get caught sneaking strippers into the clubhouse. Maybe they’ll both be good! Maybe they’ll both suck! A lot can happen in a month.

The best-case scenario would obviously be Puig—now chastened and ready to stop doing whatever it is he does that makes his coaches and teammates despise him—settling into a platoon with Reddick, but nothing ever seems to come that easy for the Dodgers.

Further complicating matters is the presence of rookie Andrew Toles, who has come out of nowhere to be a huge spark for the Dodgers in the second half. Toles has hit .397/.463/.690 in his first 58 at-bats, and is already doing heroic shit like hitting game-winning grand slams in the ninth inning. He’s pushing for playing time at all three outfield positions, and certainly seems to have a spot on the Dodgers’ playoff roster.

We’ve commented before on how impressive it is that the Dodgers continue to win in spite of their many problems, and it’s quite amusing that even in a year in which the outfield has been ravaged by injuries, the team still finds itself where it always seems to be: Overloaded with good-but-not-great players, and unsure of what exactly to do with all of them.