Yasiel Puig Rumors: Orioles Have Made 'At Least 1' Contract Offer to Outfielder

With less than two weeks remaining before the start of the 2020 Major League Baseball regular season, the Baltimore Orioles have reportedly been in contact with free-agent outfielder Yasiel Puig. 

Per MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, the Orioles are interested in signing Puig and have made "at least one" contract offer to the former All-Star.

Puig is the biggest name remaining on the free-agent market, but teams were unable to sign players for three months because of MLB's transaction freeze during the coronavirus pandemic. 

The transaction freeze officially came to an end at 12 p.m. ET on June 26, at which point Puig's name began to come up for teams seeking help in the outfield. 

Jim Bowden of CBS Sports HQ and The Athletic reported on June 23 that the San Francisco Giants are "expecting to be players" in the market for Puig. 

The Orioles need all the roster help they can get after going 101-223 in the past two seasons combined. They also need a starting right fielder with Trey Mancini unlikely to play in 2020 after announcing in April he was undergoing chemotherapy after being diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer. 

Puig began last year with the Cincinnati Reds before being traded to Cleveland on July 31. The 29-year-old hit .267/.327/.458 with 24 homers, 84 RBI and 19 stolen bases in 149 games between the two teams.