Philadelphia Phillies: Yasiel Puig signs with NL East rival
By David Esser
One of the Philadelphia Phillies biggest rivals just got a whole lot better.
While Philadelphia Phillies fans all over the country were getting ready for some televised intrasquad action, one of their division rivals made a sneaky good free agent addition. According to Mark Feinsand from MLB.com and MLB Network, the Atlanta Braves have agreed to terms with free agent outfielder Yasiel Puig.
The Braves are coming off a dominant 2019 season where they won 97 total games en route to the NL East pennant. Building around young stars like Ronald Acuna, Ozzie Albies, and Mike Soroka, the team had their way with the majority of the National League.
Despite their impressive regular season record, they fell short in the playoffs, getting knocked about quite convincingly by the St. Louis Cardinals. As they began gearing up for what would hopefully be a better conclusion in 2020, they were dealt a significant roster blow when their starting right fielder Nick Markakis announced he would be opting out for the upcoming season.
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Acknowledging they had a glaring hole out in right field, the Atlanta front office was quick to make a move.
Despite the general criticism that Puig gets from baseball fans, he was genuinely quite productive last season. Across 149 total games with two teams, Puig slashed .267/.327/.458 while homering 24 times and knocking in 84 RBIs. He also recorded 20 doubles, 19 stolen bases, and eight outfield assists.
No matter how you slice it, landing Puig is a serious addition to a Braves team that already had plenty of talent on their roster. To put things into perspective, Puig’s .785 OPS would have ranked fifth best on the entire Phillies roster last season. You read that correctly, fifth.
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The Philadelphia Phillies play the Atlanta Braves ten times in 2020, and their pitchers will no doubt be put to the test when they have to take on a roster now capped off by the “Wild Horse” himself.