Yasiel Puig Will Not Be Attending Winter Development Camp After All

The Dodgers officially announced the prospects who will be attending their sixth annual winter development camp at Camelback Ranch-Glendale, Arizona, and the big glaring name found nowhere on the press release was that of Cuban prospect Yasiel Puig. Puig will remain in Puerto Rico when the camp opens on Sunday in order to play with his team, the Indios de Mayaguez, in their playoffs.

After a slow start to his offseason baseball schedule due to a staph infection in his right elbow requiring surgery and an injury to his knee, Puig has been somewhat of a disappointment in his play thus far in the Caribbean. He only averaged .232 with one homerun, 9 RBI, and 19 strikeouts in his 69 at-bats. Puig as DH went 0-3 with a walk, a run scored, and two strikeouts on Friday night in his team’s 6-2 win over Gigantes de Carolina.

Even though Puig, the most anticipated prospect, won’t be in attendance for the mini camp, the other twelve invitees remain the same: Joc Pederson, Chris Withrow, Steven Ames, Tim Federowicz, Matt Wallach, Jeremy Moore, Zach Lee, Chris Reed, Paco Rodriguez, Matt Magill, Onelki Garcia, and Rob Rasmussen.

The participants will work on baseball fundamentals, strength training, and conditioning over the course of the week-long camp. They will also get the opportunity to meet with former Dodgers Tommy Lasorda, Maury Wills, Ron Cey, and Eric Karros. Don Mattingly will be there to work with the players and minor league coaches as well.