KEY POINTS

  • Yasiel Puig is expected to make a return this 2021 MLB season
  • Pugi gets interest from several teams
  • The Boston Red Sox are the latest MLB team to join the Puig race

After missing the 2020 MLB season, Yasiel Puig plans to make a return to baseball in 2021.

However, it remains to be seen which team he will end up with. So far, three teams are giving chase with the Boston Red Sox becoming the latest one to join the mix.

The Houston Astros and the Baltimore Orioles have 29-year-old on their radar, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported. The last time the Cuban right fielder was seen playing MLB ball was with the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians in 2019.

Puig intended to suit up last MLB season, but things got a bit complicated. He tested positive for COVID-19 in July that dashed all hopes of seeing him in the field.

If not for that incident, Puig would have seen action for the Atlanta Braves, NBC Sports reported.

Seeing Puig join the Red Sox would make sense. With the status of Jackie Bradley Jr. up in the air, the MLB All-Star could fill the void if the latter leaves in free agency.

Ironically, Bradley is being pursued by the Astros as well. Houston has made the center fielder a priority this offseason, but nothing has gone forward as of this writing.

Puig was one of the top names who missed last MLB season due to COVID-19. Regardless, it has not dampened his hopes of playing pro baseball again.

He knows that the time will be right for him to see action on the mound once more.

"When I return to the field, I will do so knowing that I will have one less hurdle to overcome," Puig said in a previous post.

Though the Red Sox are seen as a plausible destination, it would be best not to discount the Orioles. Baltimore tried to secure Puig’s services before the COVID-19 issue surfaced.

The Oriole offered several contracts at that time, but nothing prospered.

Learning from that, the Orioles may finally nail the right deal to sign the Cuban player next MLB season. Another team that could enter the fray is the Miami Marlins.

Puig admitted that he had talks with the Marlins but was seeking higher pay. Both sides could end up negotiating again for the coming MLB season.

Yasiel Puig
Yasiel Puig was among the Cuban baseball players past and present to have been pleased with the new deal between MLB and Cuban Baseball Federation. In this picture, Puig of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates after hitting a three-run home run to left field in the sixth inning of Game Four of the 2018 World Series against pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez #57 of the Boston Red Sox (not in photo) at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Oct. 27, 2018. Harry How/Getty Images
RELATED STORIES
Coronavirus Major league baseball MLB