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Dodgers rumors: Can Yasiel Puig maintain spot in starting lineup?

By Keith Rivas

Oct 11, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig (66) and manager Dave Roberts (30) questions umpire Tom Hallion (20) on a called stike to end the seventh inning against the Washington Nationals during game four of the 2016 NLDS playoff baseball series at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 11, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig (66) and manager Dave Roberts (30) questions umpire Tom Hallion (20) on a called stike to end the seventh inning against the Washington Nationals during game four of the 2016 NLDS playoff baseball series at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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The latest Dodgers rumors focus on the future of outfielder Yasiel Puig.

Deciding whether or not Yasiel Puig should be a starter in Los Angeles is the biggest Dodgers rumors story right now.

Once the best thing in baseball, Yasiel Puig has come a long way. After that breakout season into MLB, his career came close to taking a nose dive.

Eventually, Puig found himself demoted to AAA for a stint. He eventually corrected some of the issues that the Dodgers became worried about, earning a spot on their playoff roster.

It wasn’t just one aspect of his game that took a hit, however. Puig saw his stats in most major categories shockingly fall.

Puig scored just 45 times in 2016 — the second straight season failing to reach at least 50.

Considering the way that Los Angeles was ousted by the eventual World Series champion Cubs, they’ll need all the power they can get.

Free agency re-signings of Justin Turner and Kenley Jansen addressed the team’s needs in terms of efficiency. Puig has to know that a starting role means he has to meet expectations.

One room for concern with that idea is his attitude. Playing in Los Angeles could easily continue to get into Puig’s head, and the Dodgers can’t let that happen.

Should push come to shove, it’d be smart for the team to do what’s best for both parties at that point and send Puig somewhere else.

There would likely be a lot of takers for the slugger, but that all depends on how he handles this opportunity.

He was in the mix heavily during the heart of the trade deadline last year, but none of those came to fruition.

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Dave Roberts will have to make the call and determine where he’ll place Puig moving forward.

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