Yasiel Puig has better talent than 70 percent of Major League players, says his manager

If the Venezuelan club, Tiburones de La Guaira, wins the Caribbean Series trophy, Yasiel Puig will not return to Venezuela for the victory parade. Puig acknowledged that he will remain in Miami waiting for an opportunity to return to the Major Leagues to arise.

So far, Puig has masterfully used winter baseball as a showcase to exhibit his talents and make any of the Major League general managers think about his ability to help any of the 30 teams next season.

An example came last Thursday night in Venezuela’s first game in the 2024 Caribbean Series, when the Cuban outfielder hit a huge home run that fell 416 feet away with a quick and compact swing that made nearly 30,000 fans at loanDepot park stand up, supporting the 3-1 victory against the Dominican Republic.

“The special thing about this home run is that it happened in the Caribbean Series. I had always wanted to play in this tournament or in a World Classic,” said Puig, who is from the Cuban city of Cienfuegos. “Today I have the opportunity to do it with the Tiburones. Anything I can do for them is special, whether it is on a Major League field or somewhere else.”

Since Puig arrived in Venezuela after a brief period in winter ball in the Dominican Republic, his offensive production has been immense, recalling the best times when he made experts and fans fall in love with his explosive game.

Puig, however, has had not so brilliant moments on and off the field, which has cost him not to set foot on a Major League field since the 2019 contest, but several members of the Venezuelan embassy affirmed that Puig is a totally different person, and that he has become a mature baseball player and a positive influence within the clubhouse, as well as in dealing with the press and fans.

But if anyone came out to support Puig’s return to the best baseball in the world, none better than his own manager Ozzie Guillén, who has witnessed first-hand and better than anyone else Puig’s impact that allowed the Tiburones to break a long title drought.

“I watch most of the Major League games, especially the American League, and I think Puig has better talent than 70 percent of the players,” Guillén said.

“Listen well, 70 percent are a lot of ballplayers. I think it would be worth it and personally I would be proud to see him in the Major Leagues again. The talent, the youth and the hunger are there. I don’t know what the reason is, but they don’t give opportunities to people who deserve opportunities. If they think I’m wrong, they should take him, so they can see that I’m right.”

At 33 years old, Puig is still in what they call the “prime” of his sports career, but it is now or never to resume a career that saw him add seven Major League seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland.

Considered justly or unjustly, a volatile player who has found himself in the middle of legal problems, Puig has embarked on a journey of personal growth and has paid his dues with stays in the leagues of Mexico, South Korea, Dominican Republic and Venezuela.

Will this Caribbean Series be the last hurdle before returning?

“We have not given up on the goal of returning to the Major Leagues, but the goal now is to win the Caribbean title with the Tiburones,” said Puig.

“The Tiburones gave me the opportunity. Anything I can do for this team is special to me. The first thing is to win the championship with this team and then let whatever has to happen, happen.”