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Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig will be staying with the organization after being claimed off revocable trade waivers by an unknown team, according to reports Wednesday. The unknown team that claimed Puig on Tuesday was more interested in blocking him from going to another team than in trading for him, a league source told ESPN's Jim Bowden.
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An unconfirmed Twitter post from baseball analyst Antonio Puesan stated that the Boston Red Sox were the team that claimed Puig.
The Dodgers have three options. They could try to work out a trade with the team that claimed Puig, they could simply let Puig join the claiming team, or they could pull Puig back off waivers and keep him.
The 25-year-old Puig was sent to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Aug. 2 when the Dodgers could not deal him before the non-waiver trade deadline. He was batting just .260 with seven homers and 34 RBIs in 81 games with the Dodgers this season.
Puig told ESPN's Marly Rivera on Monday that he preferred a trade to another team instead of being demoted to the minors, although he said he gained some humility after joining the Triple-A in Oklahoma City.
"The moment I arrived in L.A., people were crazy for me -- 50, 60 thousand people (cheering) at the stadium," Puig said in the interview. "I got used to that amount of fans. Getting to Triple-A and not seeing as many fans is not very appealing or fun to play baseball, but this is what I have to do for my future."
Puig was an All-Star in 2014 after becoming an instant celebrity with the Dodgers. He hit .319 with 19 homers in 104 games in 2013 and hit .296 with 16 homers in 148 games in 2014. His average slipped to .255 with 11 homers in 79 games last season, when he had hamstring problems.
Wednesday is the deadline for teams to acquire players on waivers and still have them become eligible for the postseason roster.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman was asked Tuesday if Puig would be added when major league rosters expand on Thursday.
"I don't know the answer to that yet," Friedman said.
Puig has hit .348 with four home runs in his first 19 games with Oklahoma City.
"With Yasiel, (a call-up is) still a possibility," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before Wednesday's doubleheader against the Colorado Rockies. "We're still trying to figure out what's best for him, and what's best for us."
