Yasiel Puig Valdés (/ˈjɑːsiɛl ˈpwiːɡ/ YAH-see-el PWEEG, Spanish: [ˈpwiɣ]; born December 7, 1990) is a Cuban-born American professional baseball right fielder for the Kiwoom Heroes of the KBO League.

[1] He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, and Cleveland Indians.

In 2013, Puig hit .319 in 104 games with 19 home runs, and was selected by Baseball America to their annual "All-Rookie team".

Puig did not sign with a team in 2020, and played for El Águila de Veracruz of the Mexican League in 2021.

[3][4] Puig also played for the Cuba national team in the 2011 World Port Tournament, where he tried to defect along with teammate Gerardo Concepción.

[5] Starting in 2009, Puig tried to defect to Mexico 13 times in order to become a legal resident so he could become eligible to sign a contract in Major League Baseball.

The fifth time, he was successfully taken to Mexico by Los Zetas, a murderous Mexican drug cartel involved in cocaine and smuggling.

If they didn't receive the money, they were saying that at any moment they might give him a machetazo" — a whack with a machete — "chop off an arm, a finger, whatever, and he would never play baseball again, not for anyone.

"[6] Floridian Raul Pacheco, the 29-year-old president of Miami-based T&P Metal and PY Recycling, allegedly paid smugglers $250,000 to get Puig out of Cuba.

In 2013, Corbacho Daudinot's lawyers filed a federal lawsuit against Puig in Miami, claiming Puig delivered false testimony that led to Corbacho Daudinot's imprisonment under "inhumane" conditions, and in so doing violated the Torture Victim Protection Act; the suit seeks $12 million in damages.

He also paid $400,000 to $500,000 to Alberto Fariñas, the 49-year-old vice president of Pacheco's T&P Metal company, and $600,000 to Marcos González, a Miami lawyer.

He also paid an undisclosed amount to Gilberto Suarez, founder of a start-up company called Miami Sport Management.

[11] Eddie Oropesa and Tim Bravo, a special-education teacher from Las Cruces High School in New Mexico, helped the newly arrived Puig adjust to life in the United States during his first year.

On August 13, 2012, the Dodgers promoted Puig to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the Class A-Advanced California League.

After the Quakes season, he was scheduled to join the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League, but a staph infection in his right elbow required surgery and sidelined him for several months.

[20] Puig had 27 hits in his first 15 games, tied with Joe DiMaggio (1936) and Terry Pendleton (1984) for second-most all-time behind Irv Waldron (1901) and Bo Hart (2003) with 28.

He was selected by Baseball America to their annual "All-Rookie team"[28] and finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting to fellow Cuban José Fernández.

[29] On May 17, 2014, Puig had his eighth consecutive game with at least one extra-base hit and at least one RBI, which was a new record for the longest streak by a Dodger, surpassing the marks of Pedro Guerrero (1985), Duke Snider (1954), and Howie Schultz (1944).

[34] On July 25, 2014, Puig went 4-for-5 with a career-high four extra-base hits, tying the Dodgers' single-game record with three triples, matching Jimmy Sheckard.

On April 26, Puig was placed on the 15-day disabled list for the first time in his major league career, due to his nagging left hamstring.

Puig made an obscene gesture at Cleveland Indians fans at Progressive Field after hitting a home run.

[55] On December 21, 2018, the Dodgers traded Puig to the Cincinnati Reds, along with Matt Kemp, Alex Wood, Kyle Farmer, and cash considerations in exchange for Homer Bailey, Jeter Downs, and Josiah Gray.

The first one in the top of the fourth inning of a 7–5 defeat at PNC Park on April 7, 2019, resulted in an ejection and a two-game suspension for extending hostilities.

[57][58] The second brawl was just under four months later on July 30 in the top of the ninth of an 11–4 loss at Great American Ball Park, minutes after news broke that he was going to be traded to the Cleveland Indians.

On April 21, 2021, Puig announced via Twitter that he had signed with El Águila de Veracruz of the Mexican League.

[65] On December 8, 2021, Puig signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Kiwoom Heroes of the KBO League.

On November 14, 2024, Puig announced on social media that he had signed with the Kiwoom Heroes of the KBO League.

[72] On April 19, 2018, Puig and the Wild Horse Children's Foundation announced a collaboration with the City of San Fernando, California to renovate Pioneer Park, as well as refurbish a dilapidated house on-site that had been boarded up for nearly 10 years.

The State of Florida elected to drop the reckless driving charge on January 28, 2014, after concluding that there was insufficient evidence to support it.

[80] In March 2021, ESPN reported that MLB investigators had interviewed a woman who said Puig had sexually assaulted her in a Staples Center bathroom during a Los Angeles Lakers game in October 2018.