Dodgers sent Puig to minors to make room for Reddick

Herald news services

DENVER — The Los Angeles Dodgers have optioned Yasiel Puig and Ross Stripling to the minors to make room for their new additions, outfielder Josh Reddick and reliever Jesse Chavez.

Los Angeles told Puig not to come to Dodger Stadium on Monday ahead of the team’s departure to Colorado for a series against the Rockies. The Dodgers were trying to trade Puig before the non-waiver trading deadline Monday but couldn’t find a deal.

The maneuver reveals Puig’s reduced status in an organization that once perished the idea of trading him. Ineffective at the plate and diminished athletically, Puig has a career-worst .706 on-base-plus-slugging percentage this season. He spent nearly three weeks on the disabled list in June with a strained hamstring. An additional hamstring issue kept him on the bench for most of last week.

Puig returned to action Sunday and had three hits, including two doubles, drove in two runs and scored twice. He has an .831 OPS since returning from the disabled list on June 21.

Puig was an All-Star in 2014 after a meteoric rise with the Dodgers, who signed the prospect to a seven-year, $42 million deal in June 2012. He hit 35 homers and drove in 111 runs while batting .305 in 2013 and 2014, but slipped to .255 last season while playing in just 79 games due to hamstring troubles.

They were able to acquire Reddick and left-hander Rich Hill from Oakland, as well as Chavez from Toronto. Hill is on the 15-day disabled list with a blister on his pitching hand.

Reddick, 29, represents an upgrade over Puig at the plate. A left-handed hitter, he has a .955 OPS against right-handers this season. However, his OPS against left-handers is only .426.

Hill, 36, is an intriguing gamble. After pitching in independent leagues last summer, he has become one of the game’s most effective pitchers. Through 14 starts this season, he posted a 2.25 earned-run average and limited opposing hitters to a .559 OPS.