Wild Horse Yasiel Puig (34) will take the KBO League stage again. Puig, who is wearing the familiar Kiwoom Heroes uniform again, confessed the back story of the contract.
"We have recruited new foreign hitters Yasiel Puig and Cadines, and new foreign pitcher Kenny Rosenberg. We will prepare for next season by forming a roster of two batters and one pitcher," Kiwoom officially announced on Wednesday.스포츠토토
The most prominent name is Puig as well. Puig, who stepped on the KBO League stage in 2022 in Kiwoom's uniform, succeeded in a soft landing on the Korean stage with a batting average of 0.277 with 21 home runs, 73 RBIs and an OPS of 0.841 in 126 games. He contributed to Kiwoom's runner-up finish in the Korean Series, but illegal sports gambling and perjury charges surfaced and the contract was eventually canceled.
Puig continued his career in Venezuela, the Dominican Winter League, and the Mexican League. During the 2024 season, he played in 64 games for the Mexican league Aguilar de Veracruz, posting a batting average of 0.314, 18 homers, 43 RBIs and an OPS of 1.020. At the recent Winter League in Venezuela, he posted a batting average of 0.242, two homers, 12 RBIs and an OPS of 0.737.
Earlier this month, the news that Puig will return to Kiwoom suddenly surfaced. On the morning of the 7th (Korean time), the U.S. weekly news magazine Newsweek said, "Puig, an all-star outfielder from the Los Angeles Dodgers, hinted at signing a contract with an Asian team."
On the same day, Yousef Diaz of Perrota Cubana, who reported the news of Cuban baseball, said on social media, "According to sources, Puig will return to the Kiwoom Heroes," adding that he is expected to return to Korea. Puig also asked the new team not to play in the Winter League due to contract problems in 2025. It was a difficult decision, but it was necessary, he said on social media. "I love Venezuela and this is not an eternal goodbye. The opportunity to go back is still open," he said, leaving a greeting to Venezuelan fans, which seemed imminent.
However, Puig said the report was not true. "I am very happy to announce that I will finally return to my team Kiwoom in 2025," Puig said on his SNS account when his contract with Kiwoom was officially announced. "There have been reports that I signed with Kiwoom, but in fact, it was all misinformation."
"My agent has been negotiating with several clubs, including the Asian team, since last summer. When I started anew with the Tiburones (Venezuela Winter League), I already knew that (other clubs under negotiation) had to stop playing in the winter (for the Tiburones) because they were preparing for the season from January," he said. "I was thinking that my life in the winter league would not last long."
Puig said, "Everything seemed to go to another team, but Kiwoom suddenly offered to renew the contract a few days ago," adding that negotiations with Kiwoom progressed rapidly. "I'm so happy that words can't describe it. When I was with Kiwoom last time, I advanced to the Championship Series (Korean Series), but unfortunately, I missed the championship," adding, "2025 will be a great season. I promise to bring you the championship trophy with my teammates," expressing his desire to win the Korean Series.
Meanwhile, Kiwoom said, "Personal issues have been identified through several channels. Puig's side has conveyed that there are no legal issues at the moment. Puig continued his career in overseas leagues other than the U.S. even after leaving our team after the end of the 2022 season. We have determined that Puig will not have any major obstacles to playing next season for Kiwoom." Baseball fans will be able to see "Wild Horse" playing in the outfield at Gocheok Dome after three seasons.