Yasiel Puig could have had a deal with the Miami Marlins this offseason, but he turned it down for a very specific reason.
The ex-All-Star outfielder, who is doing humanitarian work in Miami amid the coronavirus pandemic, told Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald this week that he declined a free agent offer from the Marlins. Puig indicated it was because he wanted more money due to the high expectations that would come with playing in front of his native Cubans.
“They were among the first to make me an offer,” said Puig, according to a rough translation from Spanish. “I did not agree with the amount. I asked for a little more to play in front of my Cubans, close to my homeland. But it is also difficult. I played six years with the Dodgers. It was another hobby. There my Mexicans adore me, they appreciate me. I don’t have to hit 5-for-5.”
The 29-year-old Puig, who also said that he has multiple offers on the table from other teams as well, was born in Cuba and defected from the island nation in 2012. Miami, meanwhile, has a significant population of Cuban immigrants and sits just a couple-hundred miles away from Cuba itself.
The story of Puig’s defection is an absolutely incredible one, but as for the story of his 2020 free agency, that one will take a little while longer to resolve.
