Imagine my shock after I fired up the ol’ web machine immediately to see that Yasiel Puig has signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
You bear in mind him — billed as MLB’s subsequent humongous famous person when the Los Angeles Dodgers first known as him up in 2013, after which he simply form of pale into obscurity.
Yes, that Yasiel Puig. But no, not these Toronto Maple Leafs.
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Yasiel Puig of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates working to first base after hitting a three-run house run in the sixth inning of Game Four of the 2018 World Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Oct. 27, 2018. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
The 35-year-old outfielder has signed with the Maple Leafs of the Canadian Baseball League, a semi-pro league primarily based in Ontario. But the transfer comes at a notably messy time in Puig’s life.
Just two months in the past, Puig was found guilty of obstruction of justice and mendacity to federal investigators tied to an unlawful sports activities playing operation. He’s now facing up to 15 years in prison.
The case stems from a 2022 interview with investigators, the place Puig denied particulars about his involvement in the playing operation — together with who he was betting with and the way he dealt with his money owed.
That got here after he had already admitted to racking up greater than $280,000 in losses while putting lots of of bets on sports activities like tennis, soccer and basketball by way of a third celebration tied to the operation.
So yeah, that’s a robust spot.
Former Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig stands along with his agent Lisette Carnet and legal professional Zen Crump exterior the federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles on Feb. 11, 2023. (Brian Van Der Brug/Los Angeles Times)
Puig hasn’t appeared in an MLB sport since 2019, wrapping up a seven-year profession that began with a bang and slowly fizzled out. He burst onto the scene with the Dodgers in 2013, hitting .319 with 19 house runs and ending second in National League Rookie of the Year voting.
At his peak, Puig was one of the electrical gamers in baseball — massive energy, a rocket arm and a diva angle. He made the All-Star team in 2014, bounced round a bit towards the top of his MLB run, after which finally disappeared from the league altogether.
Yasiel Puig of Tiburones de la Guaira reacts in the fifth inning of the Serie del Caribe 2024 sport between Venezuela and the Dominican Republic at loanDepot Park in Miami, Fla., on Feb. 1, 2024. (Luis Gutierrez/Norte Photo/Getty Images)
Now, I assume we’ll see if the man’s nonetheless acquired it.
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The (baseball) Maple Leafs open their season on May 10. Puig is scheduled for sentencing on May 26.
In different phrases, this comeback story could also be over earlier than it even begins.
