Yasiel Puig Rumors: Royals Not Interested in Signing Free-Agent OF to Contract

The Kansas City Royals reportedly aren't interested in signing free-agent outfielder Yasiel Puig, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

Heyman added that the Miami Marlins and New York Yankees, who were "rumored to be in on Puig," aren't interested either.

The 30-year-old outfielder's last MLB action occurred during the 2019 season, when he played for the Cincinnati Reds before being traded to Cleveland. He had 24 home runs, a career-high 84 RBI, a .267 batting average and .785 OPS. He also added a career-high 19 stolen bases.

Puig missed the entire 2020 season. He agreed to a one-year deal with the Atlanta Braves on July 14, but he announced a positive COVID-19 test result three days later, nixing the contract.

Puig played the first six years of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, breaking into MLB with 19 home runs and a .925 OPS during his rookie year in 2013. He finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting behind Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez.

However, injuries (namely strained hamstrings in 2015 and 2016) hampered his production for much of the remainder of his Dodgers career. He did hit a career-high 28 home runs in 2017 (alongside a .833 OPS) and added 23 more in 2018 (with a .820 OPS).

The Dodgers traded Puig to the Reds in December 2018 in a seven-player deal. Puig enjoyed a power surge in Cincinnati with 22 home runs in just 100 games.

With the team out of the playoff picture, the Reds traded him to a contender in Cleveland, where Puig hit two homers, knocked in 27 runners and hit .297.

Puig has also played 58 playoff games, hitting .280 with five home runs (two in the 2017 World Series versus the Houston Astros) and 23 RBI.