Free-agent outfielder Yasiel Puig has agreed to a deal with the Atlanta Braves, a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand on Tuesday afternoon. The reported deal is pending a physical, as well as a negative test for COVID-19 before Puig could join the club at camp.
The Braves are waiting on Puig to pass his physical before formally announcing the signing.
Puig, a 29-year-old outfielder, played for both Ohio teams last season, hitting .252 with 22 homers and 61 RBIs in 100 games for the Reds before being dealt to the Indians in a three-team trade at the Trade Deadline. He hit .297 over 49 games for Cleveland, with a couple of home runs and 23 RBIs over 182 at-bats.
Puig should bolster the corner outfield in Atlanta after veteran Nick Markakis elected not to play in 2020. He’ll join a Braves outfield corps that includes Ronald Acuña Jr., Ender Inciarte, Adam Duvall and fellow free-agent addition Marcell Ozuna.
Puig’s addition to the Braves’ roster could also give the defending National League East champs more flexibility with the designated hitter position. The bat-first Ozuna, for example, might fit best at DH.
The Orioles were the only other team known to have made Puig an offer, as Feinsand reported on Saturday.
One of the bigger names left on the open market, Puig spent his first six big league seasons with the Dodgers, bursting onto the scene during the 2013 campaign, for which he finished second in NL Rookie of the Year Award voting.
Over seven big league seasons, Puig has hit .277 with 132 homers and 415 RBIs. He’s put up a .823 OPS in 3,376 plate appearances, accumulating 18.9 WAR (according to baseball-reference) during his career.
