The Miami Marlins should still sign OF Yasiel Puig

Would the Miami Marlins once again consider signing Yasiel Puig to become the team’s designated hitter for the 2020 season?

If the Miami Marlins are serious about proving to the fan base that they want to win now in a shortened season, then Michael Hill must pick up the phone and persuade Yasiel Puig to join the ball club.

I realize it’s a dance that the player and the team have already tried, but this might be Miami’s best opportunity to make the playoffs due to changes in the MLB season because of COVID-19.

While there is no date set for when baseball will return, just knowing the slugger is on the roster is enough to get fans to hope that there is more change on the horizon. And the blueprint that CEO Derek Jeter has put in place is being stepped up ever so slightly.

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Because of changes that teams will need to make because of an 82-game schedule, every team in the Majors has a chance to make the playoffs. The difference between the haves and the have nots won’t be as wide. Pitchers will need time to develop. Hitters must work on their timing at the plate. Young neophytes who haven’t sniffed The Show yet, won’t know what it’s like to play 162 games. This all set up nicely for small budget teams that weren’t given a chance back in February.

The Miami Marlins already made headway by adding hitters to their lineup this off-season. We talked about it before. Jonathan Villar. Jesus Aguilar. Corey Dickerson. Matt Kemp and Matt Joyce. They all make this roster better. But there still battles to be won and there is a designated hitter to find.

Let’s hope the Marlins front office sees the potential of this move and push the right buttons.

Puig is on record, stating the Marlins did offer him a deal that he turned down. Because it was a one-year deal instead of the two-year deal the Dickerson got, there may have been a breakdown in how the deal came about. Now Miami has a chance to rectify the situation.

Because the designated hitter will become a universal part of the 2020 MLB season, there is no better way to show division rivals the Miami Marlins are serious, then by making a deal for another bat. A marriage between Puig and the Marlins makes more sense than with any other franchise. And it’s a deal that needs to get done.