After showing up late to the Dodgers game against the Marlins on Tuesday, outfielder Yasiel Puig was fined an undisclosed amount by the team and had a closed-door meeting with manager Don Mattingly, reports ESPN.com.
The Dodgers tell their players to be at the ballpark no later than the time the second team bus arrives at the stadium from the hotel. On Tuesday, that would have been at around 4:15 p.m. ET. Puig walked into the clubhouse still dressed in street clothes at about 4:50.
Mattingly did not have Puig in the lineup for Wednesday's game, though whether the day off is additional punishment is unclear. Mattingly has talked about giving Puig some rest after the outfielder has hit for just a .488 OPS over his past nine games.
"I knew we'd make more of it, but today was more of a baseball day. I was close to doing it the other day," Mattingly was quoted as saying. "It's hard to take him out of the lineup, honestly, because it changes our lineup. But it just felt like the right time. I feel like today, the way he's going and the way things are going, I think this lineup gives us the best chance to win today.
Puig, 22, has been in the news recently as some around the team are rumored to be growing frustrated by his lapses in judgement and occasionally poor fundamentals. That talk was fueled after Puig overthrew his cutoff man on Sunday and allowed Phillies outfielder Domonic Brown to advance an additional base. That play may have helped the Phillies rally later in the inning and eventually break the Dodgers 10-game winning streak.
The rookie out of Cuba has been a media darling since breaking into the big leagues at the beginning of June. Over his first 68 career games, Puig has hit .351/.412/.556 and has put himself firmly in contention for the National League Rookie of the Year award.
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