Watching Bautista, Edwin, etc

I think this is what it is. He's just not focussed on baseball the way he was when he first got here. I don't believe (or don't want to believe?) it's because he doesn't care, but it's more about a kid having a whole new life to sort out and explore. It wouldn't surprise me if he came back next year better than ever. He was so raw when he came up that there was a lot of room for improvement even when he was killing it.

No pressure.

 

But he was also not a huge prospect. Just stating a similarity a lot of their players share.

 

Well when you go from Oakland to that launching pad, that happens

 

Crazy how big of a role Puig and Ryu have played on this team the last two years. They need to get healthy and I hope Puig can figure it out and Ryu is still the Ryu we all love. Bring dat Uribe dude back as a coach pls!!

 

What's he gonna coach? The post game buffet?

 

Encarnacion was largely viewed as a disappointment until he broke out in his age 29 season. Jose Bautista had below average numbers until his breakout season at... age 29. Josh Donaldson was a non-prospect who came out of nowhere to become a star at age 27. These guys don't have near the talent Puig has, nor did they put up seasons like he had at ages 22 & 23 until far later in their careers. This only shows that there is still plenty of time for Puig to put it all together. This season should be a wake up call for him.

 

Plenty of time to ponder that now

 

Big LA ego that needs to be properly "managed".

 

True that. Puig has always demonstrated an affinity for the starstruck Hollywood side of life.


but can you blame someone who came from such abject poverty in Cuba?

 

Not at first but we're going on year 3. When he started up with the BS about which sports hero he planned to be last year at ST I just rolled my eyes and hoped for the best. That turned out to be his goat curse. Hopefully, since NerdCo has already traded his BFF Uribe and the only dude he ever truly respected in Olivera, someone else can (and will) effectively take him behind the woodshed and get him to "Just play" the game like we all know he can.... and, like you said, he's way better now wherever he plays so threatening to trade him probably won't phase him all that much since he'll be a "Hero" there going forward.

 

whats a 4 win player?

 

To be fair, there also toolsy players that started out pretty hot yet ended up spiraling downward by the time they were 29-30yrs old and Friedman is very familiar with one of them...BJ Upton. Zaidi is familiar with the story of Chris Young having had him in Oakland in 2013. Allen Craig is another as well as Grady Sizemore. For one reason or another they all bottomed out by the time they were 29-30yrs and that's Puig's story in a way because there are so many issues that he's dealing with from technique to health to mental toughness, etc.

Not saying that's how Puig's story is gonna end because he could level off into what he was this year or improve, but it's on the FO to figure out if it's the right time to sell and it's fair to look at all the outcomes that could happen here. This is still the guy that had vets in the clubhouse saying his absence was addition by subtraction, right? Is that someone who needs to be around Corey Seager or perhaps rub off on Joc? What if trading Puig is one of the deciding factors in swaying Greinke our way in free agency? We all know about that beef...what say ye then?