Does the Yasiel Puig Trade Talk Have Legs?

Saw a little bit of a head turner in today’s Los Angeles Times. This report comes from Dylan Hernandez, who covers the Dodgers on a regular basis. He’s a beat writer. That kind of regular.

He begins:

ORLANDO, Fla. — Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford have drawn interest on the trade market over the first two days of the general managers’ meetings.

The Dodgers have fielded inquiries about all four of their outfielders, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The conversations were described as preliminary.

Of the four, the Dodgers are most reluctant to trade Puig, who turns 23 next month.

The markets for Puig, Kemp, Ethier and Crawford aren’t expected to fully develop until the free-agent market is defined.

So wait a second. According to one of the Dodgers most credible writers that covers the team, the Dodgers are fielding offers from Puig and determining a market for him? This is news in and of itself.

It’s not surprising that when Peter Gammons mentions something, it has legs at it’s core. Lesson learned. Now the question is, why the Hell would the Dodgers really consider trading Puig?