Sources have confirmed to me that Yasiel Puig has an offer on the table from the Navegantes de Magallanes of the Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional, but the Cuban outfielder has yet to sign with the club due to the fact that he has other offers on the table in Venezuela and from other clubs in the Caribbean.
Puig played with the Tiburones de La Guaira last season hitting .242 with six homeruns and 12 runs batted in over a 17 game span. The native of Palmira, Cuba hit .212 with the Kiwoom Heroes of the KBO before being released after 40 games due to an injury.
The Cuban slugger led La Guaira to a LVBP title, a Serie del Caribe birth and an eventual Caribbean title in 2024 slashing .418/.518/.846/1.364 with 10 longballs and 23 runs batted in over 23 games during the regular season. Whatever team happens to sign the outfielder it will be a definite upgrade to their offense heading into what shapes up to be a competitive winter league season due to the upcoming World Baseball Classic.
Cubans that have signed with teams this winter:
LIDOM:
Dairon Blanco OF (Estrellas)
Eddy Díaz IF (Estrellas)
Ernesto Martínez Jr IF-OF (Estrellas)
Andrew Pérez LHP (Licey)*
Raynel Delgado IF (Águilas)
Liga ARCO:
Albert Lara IF (Culiacán)
Orlando Martínez OF (Culiacán)
Leonys Martín OF (Los Mochis)
Yoanner Negrín RHP (Los Mochis)
Yadir Drake IF-OF (Mexicali)
Yadiel Hernández OF (Mexicali)
Odrisamer Despaigne RHP (Obregón)
Vladimir Gutierrez RHP (Obregón)
Julio Robaina LHP (Guasave)
LVBP:
Geisel Cepeda OF (La Guaira)
Rangel Ravelo IF-OF (Lara)
LBPRC:
No Cuban signed as of yet.
LBPN:
Maikol Pérez OF (Chinandega)
Lázaro Blanco RHP (Chinandega)
*Cuban-American