Yasiel Puig was once a beloved fan favorite for the Los Angeles Dodgers and his trajectory had him rocketing toward stardom until gravity yanked him back down to Earth.
The outfielder, who has not played in a Major League Baseball game since 2019, announced a deal with the Kiwoom Heroes of the South Korea-based Korean Baseball Organization for 2025 on X (formerly Twitter) last week.
Puig is returning to the KBO for a second stint with the Kiwoom Heroes, marking his sixth consecutive year playing internationally. He previously played for the Heroes in 2022, finishing that season with a .277 batting average, 21 home runs, and 73 RBIs in 126 games.
The announcement follows Puig’s recent Instagram post, where he revealed that he would not be returning to the Tiburones de La Guaira in the Venezuelan Winter League, citing an intriguing reason.
“Due to matters of a proposed contract for 2025, which was already in motion when I re-signed here, my new team has asked me to retire from playing in the Winter,” Puig wrote in Spanish. “This was a very difficult but necessary decision at this point in my life, and I always want to give my best to the people who trust me.”
After his single season in Korea, Puig continued his career in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela. His final MLB game took place in 2019 with Cleveland. He hit a combined .267 with 24 home runs and 84 RBIs in 149 games for the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland.
In 2020, the Atlanta Braves attempted to sign him, but the deal fell apart when Puig tested positive for COVID-19, according to multiple reports.
Over parts of seven MLB seasons (2013-19), Puig posted a .277/.348/.475 slash line across three teams. He spent the bulk of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2013-18), finishing second in voting for National League Rookie of the Year in 2013, and earning a National League All-Star selection in 2014.
Puig became a U.S. citizen in 2019. However, he has faced legal challenges in the country, including multiple sexual assault allegations and reports in 2022 linking him to wagers placed with an illegal sports betting operation.
