Did the Miami Marlins offer a one-year deal to Yasiel Puig?

Were the Miami Marlins the one team to offer outfielder Yasiel Puig a contract this offseason in free agency?

The Miami Marlins made a run at free-agent outfielder Yasiel Puig, but the slugger did not sign with the National League team during free agency.

Now, through several reports including CBS Sports and Call to the Pen, it appears the team did make Puig an offer – one that he turned down. The Marlins signed outfielder Corey Dickerson to play alongside Jonathan Villar, who was acquired in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles this offseason.

Per Yusseff Diaz of Call to the Pen, “Yasiel Puig confirmed to the El Nuevo Herald’s Jorge Ebro that in fact that an offer was made to him by the Miami Marlins during the off-season. “I have offers on the table right now from other teams that aren’t the Marlins,” Puig recounts, “they were one of the first teams to make me an offer but it wasn’t in my price range,” according to the slugger.”

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Puig had been a possible target of the Miami Marlins as far back as the final months of the 2019 MLB season. He could have been a big bat in the middle of a lineup that hit only 146 home runs last year, which was worst in Major League Baseball.

While the front office did pursue the former Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Dodgers star, no offer was accepted. There is a belief the Marlins were the team that offered him a one-year deal worth $10M. Whichever team was involved in contract negotiations, Puig turned the offer down.
The San Francisco Giants and Detroit Tigers were also believed to be teams interested in his services.

As R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports wrote, “Puig, 29, is coming off an uneven season. He hit .252/.302/.475 (95 OPS+) with the Cincinnati Reds before being shipped to Cleveland at the trade deadline. From that point on, he hit .297/.377/.423 (109 OPS+). Remarkably, 22 of Puig’s 24 home runs came before the trade, as he shifted his approach to be more contact-heavy after being sent across the state as part of a three-team deal that also saw Trevor Bauer and Franmil Reyes change teams.”

Adding Puig to the Miami Marlins roster would have certainly given the team a different look in the middle of the batting order. He could have played in the outfield or moved to first base, potentially on a part-time basis.

Puig has not signed with a team so far this offseason and could once again be the subject of rumors once the 30 teams are allowed to return to work following the layoff due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has essentially left all major sports in a holding pattern.

“Earlier in the offseason, league sources told CBS Sports their concerns with Puig had more to do with his maturity rather than his power outage,” Anderson added. “Puig, of course, was involved in a number of antics during his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers.”

The Marlins also brought in Jesus Aguilar to play first base and add more power to the lineup. Third baseman Brian Anderson returns from a broken hand after missing the last month of the season. He finished second on the team with 20 home runs last year.

Dickerson’s deal with the Miami Marlins was reported to be two years and $17.5 million.