Rosenberg is the only one of the trio who appeared in the majors in 2024. The 29-year-old southpaw pitched in seven games for the Angels, allowing an even 6.00 ERA across 24 innings. It was the third straight season in which Rosenberg made a handful of appearances for the Halos. He worked as a depth option for the rotation or low-leverage relief and combined for a 4.66 mark over 67 2/3 frames.

Los Angeles released Rosenberg within the first few days of the offseason. This will be the first overseas stint for the Cal State Northridge product. Rosenberg had previously split his eight-year professional career between the Rays and Angels organizations. He has a solid Triple-A track record. Over parts of five seasons at the top minor league level, he carries a 4.10 ERA while striking out a quarter of opposing hitters.

Puig hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2019. He played the 2022 season in Korea with the Heroes. Puig spent the ’24 campaign in Mexico. Cardenas spent most of this this year in Triple-A. He divided his time between the Rays’ and Phillies’ systems but didn’t get a big league call. He signed with the KBO’s Samsung Lions late in the year but only made seven appearances. The Cal State Fullerton product should get a more significant opportunity for the Heroes.

The 33-year-old is a veteran of seven MLB seasons, six of which came as a member of the Dodgers, and last played in the majors in 2019 while splitting time between Cincinnati and Cleveland. The longtime outfielder slashed .277/.348/.475 in 861 career games in the majors, including a .305/.386/.502 line across the first two seasons of his career. That excellent early-career performance earned Puig, who was a consensus top-100 prospect prior to his big league debut, a second place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2013, an All Star nod in 2014, and down-ballot votes for the NL MVP award in both seasons.

After that phenomenal start to his career, Puig’s numbers took a turn for the worse, though he remained a quality regular throughout the rest of his time in the majors with a roughly league average .264/.330/.462 slash line over his final five seasons in the big leagues. Most of that production came with the Dodgers, though Puig was traded to the Reds alongside Alex Wood, Matt Kemp, and Kyle Farmer in a seven-player deal with the Reds just before the 2019 season that netted L.A. prospects Josiah Gray and Jeter Downs. After hitting free agency the following winter, Puig appeared to be nearing a deal to join the Braves for the 2020 campaign before a positive test for COVID-19 scuttled that deal and led to him sitting out the shortened season.

Since his last appearance in the majors, Puig has played international ball with stints in the Korea Baseball Organization as well as the Dominican and Venezuelan Winter Leagues in addition to the Mexican League. He’s performed well in those opportunities, slashing .291/.377/.558 in 1,032 combined plate appearances with 44 homers. That includes an impressive 51-game stretch in winter league play this offseason, where he slashed an incredible .330/.426/.607 in 202 trips to the plate.

Despite that strong performance, Puig hasn’t signed with an affiliated club since he first hit MLB free agency following the 2019 season. That apparent lack of interest may be thanks in part to off-the-field issues, which most recently have included allegations of lying to federal investigators during an investigation into an illegal gambling organization. Puig initially pled guilty to the charge in November 2022 before changing his plea to not guilty later that month. While Puig allegedly placed bets on football, basketball, and tennis back in 2019, there have been no indications in the case that he bet on baseball at any point.

The former big leaguer would have been eligible for probation and had agreed to pay a fine of at least $55,000 under the agreement. Having now withdrawn, Puig could face trial and a maximum sentence of five years in prison. “Significant new evidence” prompted the change, according to Keri Axel, Puig’s attorney. “We are prepared to publicly share that information in the appropriate forum and at the appropriate time,” Axel says.

The government alleges that Puig lost almost $300K on sports bets in the first half of 2019 but then lied to investigators over a Zoom call about it. “Mr. Puig, who has a third-grade education, had untreated mental-health issues, and did not have his own interpreter or criminal legal counsel with him,” Axel says, in relation to that Zoom call.

Puig played in the majors from 2013 to 2019 but there is no evidence in the plea agreement that he bet on baseball.

According to the U.S. Attorney, Puig has agreed to pay a fine of at least $55K as part of a plea agreement initially filed in August. He’s expected to make a court appearance tomorrow; it isn’t clear whether he’ll be formally sentenced at that point, nor did the U.S. Attorney announce whether Puig is expected to serve any prison time.

The press release states that Puig agreed to place hundreds of bets in an illicit gambling ring between May and September 2019. The U.S. Attorney indicates that Puig — then a member of the Reds and Indians — bet on football, tennis and basketball but does not suggest he ever placed a bet on baseball. The criminal charge stemmed not from the bets themselves but a meeting with federal investigators this past January, in which Puig told agents he’d never discussed gambling with an anonymous member of the operation. The press release indicates Puig then told a second individual in March that he’d lied to federal investigators during the January interview; agents evidently obtained that message at some point in recent months.

Puig has not played in the majors since that 2019 season. The former Dodgers All-Star sat out the 2020 campaign after a positive COVID-19 test derailed a free agent deal with the Braves. The following offseason, reports emerged he was facing a civil suit for an alleged 2018 sexual assault. Puig settled that action, and eventually signed with the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization for the 2022 season. Last December, the Washington Post reported Puig had settled two additional civil actions related to sexual assault allegations back in 2017.

The 31-year-old outfielder hit .277/.368/.474 through 547 plate appearances with the Heroes this year. He has previously maintained he hopes to return to Major League Baseball, but it’s very difficult to envision him getting another MLB opportunity at this point. His KBO job may also be in jeopardy. Heroes general manager Young-wook Goh indicated this evening he’d been unaware of the gambling investigation (via reporter Daniel Kim). Goh suggested the team would look into the matter further before making any final decisions but implied they’d be unlikely to re-sign Puig based on this news.

Though the Doosan Bears have one signing that still isn’t yet official, the other 29 slots have been filled.  It is still possible this list could be adjusted in the coming weeks due to a number of factors — injuries, players returning to North America (for personal reasons or a deal with an MLB team), issues related to the pandemic, or teams just changing their minds after seeing the players in training camp.  Here is the rundown of this winter’s international signings for the 10 KBO League franchises….

Doosan Bears
Jose Miguel Fernandez (deal not yet finalized), Ariel Miranda, Robert Stock

NC Dinos
Nick Martini, Wes Parsons, Drew Rucinski

Hanwha Eagles
Ryan Carpenter, Nick Kingham, Mike Tauchman

Lotte Giants
Charlie Barnes, DJ Peters, Glenn Sparkman

Kiwoom Heroes
Tyler Eppler, Eric Jokisch, Yasiel Puig

SSG Landers
Kevin Cron, Wilmer Font, Ivan Nova

Samsung Lions
David Buchanan, Jose Pirela, Albert Suarez

Kia Tigers
Socrates Brito, Sean Nolin, Ronnie Williams

LG Twins
Casey Kelly, Adam Plutko, Rio Ruiz

KT Wiz
William Cuevas, Odrisamer Despaigne, Henry Ramos

The Post report contains details on the disturbing set of allegations made against the then-Dodgers outfielder in 2017. One woman alleged Puig became violent during a sexual encounter. She reported the allegation to police — who photographed injuries she said resulted therefrom — but declined to pursue criminal charges. The other woman alleged that Puig attempted to force her to engage in various sexual acts without her consent, according to a letter from the woman’s attorney to Puig obtained by the Post. There is no indication the second woman reported the alleged assault to police.

Both women initiated civil actions against Puig which were confidentially settled out of court by April 2017. As part of both settlements, Puig denied the veracity of the allegations. His attorney tells the Post that Puig agreed to settle based on the advice of counsel at the time, citing the Cuba native’s “limited English abilities” as a factor in Puig’s decision to go along with that course of action. Puig’s agent, Lisette Carnet, told the Post she believes Latin American players are particularly susceptible to false allegations being made against them. She also claimed that players agreeing to confidential settlements with accusers of sexual assault is a common practice throughout MLB, one some agents consider “part of the business behind the game.”

Major League Baseball investigated both incidents in 2017, according to Garcia-Roberts, ultimately making the determination not to impose discipline. That decision was made “based on the evidence available to league investigators,” a league spokesperson told the Post. (MLB was permitted to speak with the women despite the respective settlements’ inclusion of non-disclosure agreements, per Garcia-Roberts, although it’s not clear whether they ever did so).

Puig continued to play that season while the league’s investigation was ongoing. That’s standard practice in instances where the allegations have not been made public, Garcia-Roberts notes. While the MLB – MLBPA Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy gives the league the authority to place a player accused of a violation on paid administrative leave pending investigation, the Post writes that MLB has typically declined to do so unless the allegations are made public in some other way or unless they’re on the verge of imposing discipline.

Dodgers president Stan Kasten told the Post that he had “no recollection” of the allegations against Puig. Garcia-Roberts notes that the Joint Domestic Violence Policy contains a provision that limits the league’s ability to disclose information related to an investigation — even to the player’s team — to certain circumstances (i.e. for the imposition of discipline, in anticipation of a grievance, when needed to further potential mental health treatment for the player, etc.).

Puig played in Los Angeles through the end of the 2018 season. He split the 2019 campaign between the Reds and Indians. While he’d neared an agreement to sign with the Braves in 2020, that deal was scuttled after he tested positive for COVID-19. He didn’t play last year, then spent 2021 in the Mexican League. Last week, Puig signed with the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization. In recent months, the 31-year-old has continued to express a desire to eventually return to MLB.

Puig, who turned 31 years old yesterday, hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2019. After a league average offensive showing between the Reds and Indians that year, he lingered on the free agent market for the entire offseason. Puig looked as if he’d lined up a deal with the Braves coming out of the pandemic-driven transactions freeze last July, but his potential agreement with Atlanta was scuttled after he tested positive for COVID-19.

Puig didn’t wind up playing in 2020. During the ensuing offseason, a woman filed a civil action against him, alleging that he had sexually assaulted her in 2018. In March, John Barr of ESPN detailed the allegations, which Puig and his representatives denied. Criminal charges were never filed, and the parties settled the civil case out of court this past October.

While Puig continued to express interest in a return to Major League Baseball, he spent the 2021 season in the Mexican League. The right-handed hitter signed with El Águila de Veracruz. He hit .312/.409/.517 across 247 plate appearances and 62 games. He’ll now reportedly head to South Korea for his first career action outside of North America.

Puig has appeared in seven big league seasons, including star-level showings in each of his first two years with the Dodgers. He appeared on MVP balloting in both 2013 and 2014, earning an All-Star selection in the latter of those seasons. From 2015 onwards, Puig settled in as a solid but not elite offensive player, posting slightly above-average marks until his average 2019 showing. For his career, he’s a .277/.348/.475 hitter.

Now 30 years old, Puig starred with the Dodgers at times from 2013-18. However, there were some off-field issues along the way, including two reckless driving arrests. The Dodgers moved on from Puig in a trade with the Reds heading into 2019, during which he went on to slash .267/.327/.458 with 29 home runs and 19 stolen bases in 611 plate appearances between Cincinnati and Cleveland.

Statistically, Puig did enough with the Ohio teams to earn another contract going into last season, but he sat on the open market into the summer. While the Braves appeared to have a deal with Puig in the middle of July, that fell through when he tested positive for COVID-19. Puig didn’t end up playing in MLB last season as a result, nor did he garner major interest as a free agent this past offseason – likely because of serious off-field allegations.

Last October, a woman filed a civil lawsuit against Puig, who she claims sexually assaulted her at a Los Angeles Lakers game in 2018. Puig and his legal team categorically denied those allegations last week, when the 30-year-old called them “totally false.” He also expressed a desire to return to MLB, but he’ll have to play at a lower level for at least the time being.

“I am speaking out now to defend my name against false and malicious allegations by a woman who claims I assaulted her in 2018,” he said. “Let me be clear and set the record straight once and for all: These allegations are totally false, the evidence proves they are false, and I look forward to all the truth and facts coming out.”

Puig went on to admit that he and the alleged victim “had consensual sex” and “planned to get together again, but we never did.”

In a lengthy statement of his own, Alan Jackson – a member of Puig’s legal team – claims the allegations are “provable lies,” as “the plaintiff’s own Instagram messages and text messages contradict her claims. They show that she initiated contact with Mr. Puig earlier that evening.”

According to Jackson, the plaintiff continued to contact Puig after the encounter. Jackson expects “the truth to be revealed” and hopes “Major League Baseball and the clubs will see through this charade.”

Puig concluded by stating a desire “to play the game that I love so much.”

Puig last appeared in the majors in 2019 with the Reds and Indians, and though he appeared close to a deal with the Braves last summer, the potential agreement collapsed after a positive COVID-19 test. The 30-year-old hasn’t garnered much interest since then.

• The Phillies have shown interest in a pair of utility players – Marwin Gonzalez (previously reported) and Brad Miller – as well as outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, according to Heyman. The division-rival Mets are also considering Gonzalez, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com relays. Gonzalez and Miller are fits just about anywhere because of their histories of combining respectable offense with defensive versatility, whereas the Phillies and other NL teams look like an imperfect match for Choo. Not only is he 38 years old, but Choo has struggled as a defender for most of his career.
• Four to five teams are in the mix for middle infielder/outfielder Dee Strange-Gordon, and he could make a decision on his next club by week’s end, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com tweets. The Red Sox were interested in Strange-Gordon earlier this offseason, but they’re likely out of the running after signing fellow infielder/outfielder Enrique Hernandez, per Cotillo. The Reds are reportedly one of the teams in on the 32-year-old speedster, who’s a free agent at an inopportune time after three consecutive dismal seasons with the Mariners.
• Veteran reliever Joakim Soria agreed to join the Diamondbacks for a $3.5MM guarantee Wednesday, but he turned down bigger offers from elsewhere to do so, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The 36-year-old right-hander, a two-time All-Star who turned in his latest solid season with the Athletics in 2020, is in line to close for Arizona.

JANUARY 23: The Marlins have been tied to a number of outfielders lately, including Anthony Santander of the Orioles and Andrew Benintendi of the Red Sox. Limited financial resources will curb their willingness to bid on free agent options like Adam Duvall and Eddie Rosario, tweets Jon Heyman. They do, however, have some prospect capital that they’re willing to spend on the right player. At present, Corey Dickerson returns to left, Starling Marte to center, and Garrett Cooper to right, with Brian Anderson occasionally shifting from third base to right, and Lewis Brinson, Harold Ramirez, and Magneuris Sierra filling as speed and defensive replacements. If the Marlins go the free agent route, however, they may explore a union with Yasiel Puig. Not having played in the Majors since 2019, Puig is a candidate to sign a value or incentive-laden deal, should if he land a contract this winter.

The Yankees and Royals are also possible destinations for Puig, per Jim Bowden of MLB Network (via Twitter). For the Royals’ part, they have been looking for another bat to join a largely-unproven group in the grass made up of Franchy Cordero, Michael A. Taylor, and a number of options who could end up elsewhere on the diamond, such as Whit Merrifield, Ryan McBroom, Hunter Dozier, and likely DH Jorge Soler. In looking to add to that group, they’ve generally zeroed in on left-handed hitters. Even with the group they have in-house, the Royals could possibly still add a couple of outfielders, if the price were right.

As for the Yankees, they would be a surprising destination for Puig, if there were no corresponding moves. They are, after all, pretty well-stocked in the outfield with Aaron Hicks, Clint Frazier, Aaron Judge, and Mike Tauchman on the roster, Greg Allen on the 40-man roster, and Brett Gardner hanging out in free agency. Puig’s colorful personality would also be an interesting fit on the Yankees, who for literal and metaphorical reasons are generally regarded as a clean-cut organization. Still, that doesn’t preclude Puig from heading to the Bronx. After all, it’s not as if an interesting character or two haven’t donned pinstripes in the past.

After a largely successful career with the Dodgers, Reds and Cleveland from 2013-19, Puig looked like a surefire bet to land a guaranteed contract last offseason. But the former All-Star didn’t encounter as much serious interest as expected, and he didn’t find a deal until the Braves agreed to sign him in the middle of July – shortly before the truncated season was set to begin. However, the contract never became official because Puig tested positive for COVID-19 just a few days later. Considering how long it would have taken Puig to recover and get up to speed, it was seemingly too late for the Braves or another big league club to sign him before the year ended.

Although last year was a lost season for Puig, he does appear to be an appealing buy-low type for MLB teams that aren’t necessarily looking to spend big on outfield help in free agency or via trade. Puig, who turned 30 last month, is the owner of a .277/.348/.475 line with 132 home runs and 79 stolen bases across 3,376 plate appearances. That history of above-average production should help Puig land a reasonably priced contract before next season starts.

• Third baseman Justin Turner is looking for a four-year contract, but the Dodgers don’t want to go above two years, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times writes. Turner spent the previous seven seasons as a member of the Dodgers, with whom he went from afterthought to star. The problem is that he’s now 36 years old, so the Dodgers (and other teams) may not be all that eager to commit to Turner on a long-term basis. MLBTR predicted at the beginning of the offseason that Turner would ink a two-year, $24MM deal.
• The Marlins are interested in outfielder Adam Duvall, Craig Mish of Sportsnet tweets. The 32-year-old ex-Red spent the previous two-plus seasons in Atlanta, where he batted .231/.290/488 with 26 home runs in 396 plate appearances. As a Brave, Duvall was a powerful league-average hitter (100 wRC+), but that wasn’t enough for the team to tender him a contract earlier this winter, when it non-tendered him in lieu of paying him $4MM-plus in arbitration.
• Speaking of the Marlins, they offered Yasiel Puig a $2MM base salary with “tons of incentives” during free agency a winter ago, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Puig didn’t end up signing with them or any other team in 2020. He did agree to a deal with the Braves in July, but that deal fell apart thanks to a positive COVID-19 test. Now that he’s healthy, though, Puig is back on MLB teams’ radars – including Miami’s.

3:53pm: After a season out of baseball, free-agent outfielder Yasiel Puig has hired Rachel Luba as his new agent, Luba announced on Twitter. That suggests Puig is looking to return to the pro ranks in 2021.

The past year has not gone according to plan for Puig, who was a fairly hyped free agent last offseason. Puig was unable to reach a deal until he finally agreed to a contract with the Braves in the middle of July, but that pact fell apart almost immediately. The soon-to-be 30-year-old tested positive for COVID-19 just a couple of days after the Braves deal, which caused the team to call off the signing. For the most part, it has been radio silence on Puig since then.

Last time he took the field, in 2019, Puig batted .267/.327/.458 (101 wRC+) with 24 home runs and 19 stolen bases over 611 plate appearances between the Reds and Indians. While his counting stats were solid, it was still a relatively disappointing year for a player who has typically been a well-above-average hitter throughout his career. Also a former Dodger, Puig has slashed .277/.348/.475 (124 wRC+) during his major league tenure. The hope for Puig is that he’ll return to that form if he does get back to the bigs in 2021. For now, he’s one of the most established and recognizable outfielders on the open market.