2015 MLB Trade Deadline News: Yasiel Puig’s Status With The Dodgers

Despite everything he’s been to the LA Dodgers in recent memory, the honeymoon may well be over for Yasiel Puig in Los Angeles.

Mid-June of 2013 was a time of life that most Dodgers fan can well remember.

A young gun from Cuba was about to get his shot at playing in the major leagues, and to the surprise of many it went better than expected.

Usually rookies or newcomers to the league have some serious adjustment time before they start to find their professional rhythm or rate of play — but that was not the case with Yasiel Puig.

More from LA Sports Hub

• Lakers: 5 Players to Target Through Trades to make another championship run
• LA Chargers: Week 8 against Denver Broncos is a must-win
• LA Rams: Jared Goff wants to keep the Los Angeles title streak going
• Lakers Rumors: Los Angeles Clippers interested in Rajon Rondo
• LA Chargers: Justin Herbert wins AFC Rookie of the Month

Right off the bat — pun intended — Puig showcased his strength and it seemed like the kind of joy erupting from the dugout to downtown would never end.

But now it seems as if we’ve come out of the numbing phase and the possibility of dealing Yasiel Puig for a piece that would make the Dodgers true World Series contenders is cooking in the rumor mill.

And there might not be any room for second thoughts about it.

In 2015, Puig has 48 hits to his credit and is on pace to reach around 80, per ESPN.

Comparing that to his 165 last season and 122 in his rookie year shows that something is clearly heading downhill for Puig — mentally, physically, and add to that the new dimension of the in-between.

Puig’s other stats show that he’s on a path that will give him career lows in RBIs, runs scored himself, extra base hits, and even batting average.

An average that’s dropped from .319 his rookie season to where it stands now at .264.

This kind of a decline mixed with the unforeseen rise from the ashes of Joc Pederson hasn’t done Puig too much justice.

But it’s not like Pederson’s out of the woodwork just yet himself, seeing that his hitting ability has been out of the ordinary, to say the least, recently.

Back to Puig, though.

With someone like Yasiel Puig on the trading block, the LA Dodgers have to take some offers they’ll get — if they haven’t gotten them already, of course — into serious consideration.

Philadelphia’s Jonathan Papelbon and Cincinnati’s Johnny Cueto seem like the most reasonable pitchers for the Dodgers to pick up from some sort of trade that would presumably involve sending Puig packing.

Detroit’s David Price is also in the mix of trade talks, but the Dodgers know what they need most, so we’ll leave that decision up to them.

The good news, above all else, is that moving on from the Puig era and hype won’t damage the Dodgers too badly.

In short, they’ll survive.

With an NL West division lead and crown currently in their grasp, the Dodgers know that with the way they’ve been playing they can win a division and get a berth in playoff baseball.

Bottom Line: A split may be what’s best for everyone involved.

But playoff baseball also has been the thing that seems to come back to haunt them — unless they fix their pitching.

As good as Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw have been, there’s no way they’ll ever be able to carry this team far on their own.

Not to a World Series anytime soon — that much is for certain.