Main villain of SF Giants-Dodgers rivalry joins new team despite potential prison time

While Dalton Rushing is currently the Los Angeles Dodgers villain SF Giants fans are focused on, the player Giants fans couldn’t stand for years was outfielder Yasiel Puig. He was a thorn in San Francisco’s side for years and he has now signed with a new team in the Canadian Baseball League.

He’s signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Not the hockey team, though. Apparently there is a semi-pro baseball team by the same name. 

Former Dodgers villain Yasiel Puig surprisingly joins Canadian baseball team

It’s a bit of odd timing as Puig is currently facing up to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of obstruction of justice related to a sports gambling probe in the United States.

This is not Puig’s first brush with the law nor is it his first time making headlines for the wrong reasons. He was charged with reckless driving back in 2013 and has been accused of sexual assault in the past.

The last time he played in the big leagues was in 2019 with the Cleveland Guardians. He spent 2013 to 2018 with the Dodgers and was a solid player for LA, making it to the All-Star Game in 2014.

Giants fans will never forget the infamous dust ups he had with Madison Bumgarner. Those two did not like each other and whenever they faced off it was must-see TV and once led to a benches-clearing moment. He also had a tense moment with former Giant Nick Hundley in 2018.

In all, Puig slashed .277/.348/.475 with 132 homers and 415 runs batted in during his seven-year big league career. Since 2019 he has bounced around quite a bit, playing in the KBO, the Mexican League, and in Venezuela. He got into a major brawl in a Venezuelan League game back in 2024.

It will be interesting to see how his contentious personality and penchant for controversy and fights will translate to Canada, a country known for its politeness. Maybe the kind Canadians north of the border will have some sort of calming influence on him and his antics.

Puig will forever be a controversial figure for Giants fans and there’s a chance he will be doing jail time soon. He’s set to debut for the Maple Leafs on May 10 and his sentencing is set to take place on May 26 so at least he’ll be able to play for a few weeks before potentially going behind bars.

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