When the Cincinnati Reds swung the massive deal that sent what’s left of Homer Bailey to the Los Angeles Dodgers with a pair of prospects, they landed a lot more than just Matt Kemp, Alex Wood, seven million bucks, Kyle Farmer, and Yasiel Puig. While the on-field output should see a massive upgrade thanks to that trade, the life, the energy, and the enthusiasm about the Reds has already seen a massive uptick, and there hasn’t really been a bigger driver of that than Puig himself.
Despite the frigid January temperature, Puig was in Cincinnati yesterday, shopping around for a place to live for 2019, meeting the mayor, and hanging at the the Reds Urban Youth Academy, as MLB.