At the end of Don Mattingly’s five-year tenure as Los Angeles Dodgers manager, there were rumblings of a disconnect between he and Yasiel Puig. The polarizing outfielder missed much of the 2015 season due to hamstring injuries, then made what Mattingly called a “miraculous” recovery to return last October.
Puig appeared in the final two games of the regular season, making one start. He then started only once — Game 4 — during the National League Division Series against the New York Mets. Puig did pinch-hit Games 2 and 3, and finished the series 0-for-6 with three strikeouts.
His presence has often been the source of rumored acrimony in the clubhouse over recent seasons. In February, Puig said Mattingly did the best he could, and stopped short of placing blame of the Dodgers’ shortcomings squarely on his former manager’s shoulders.
Puig then said during Spring Training that he and Mattingly never reached an understanding of one another, which Puig added isn’t an issue with current Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. Mattingly routinely downplayed any notion of having animosity or frustration with the young outfielder.
In his first return to Dodger Stadium now as manager of the Miami Marlins, Mattingly reiterated that sentiment. “Everything with Yasiel over the years for me, and there were different meetings and different stuff that’s been written, there’s not one thing from my standpoint that wasn’t about him being a better player,” Mattingly said.
“Him growing, being a better teammate and all those kind of things. Those were all part of those big meetings and conversations. It was nothing personal or anything about a relationship for me. It was all about helping him grow. That’s what I tried to do, and maybe I didn’t succeed in certain areas. But, hopefully there was some impact. I know from my heart, the intent was always to help him.”
By and large, Puig reported to camp this year with a renewed focus and slimmed down figure. He met Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman’s directive to lose weight during the offseason with the hope it would lend to Puig avoiding the recurring soft-tissue injuries.
The Dodgers reportedly received trade calls on Puig during the offseason, but continued to publicly state their focus was on aiding the 25 year old bounce back from a down year. Through 21 games (19 starts), Puig is batting .276/.345/.447, with three doubles, three triples, two home runs, eight RBIs, a .346 wOBA and 114 wRC+.
