What is Yasiel Puig's Net Worth?
Yasiel Puig is a Cuban professional baseball player who has a net worth of $18 million. Yasiel Puig, AKA "The Wild Horse," has played in Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, and Cleveland Indians, and in the KBO League for the Kiwoom Heroes.
Early Life
Yasiel Puig Valdes was born on December 7, 1990, in Cienfuegos, Cuba, to Omar Puig and Maritza Valdes. He has a younger sister named Yaima, and his father worked in a sugar cane factory. Yasiel started playing baseball at nine years old. He defected from his home country in 2012.
Baseball Career
Yasiel Puig played for Cuban's national team prior to his defection, helping secure a bronze medal at the 2008 World Junior Baseball Championship in Edmonton. He also played for the Cienfuegos team during the 2008-2009 Cuban National Series.
Puig made his Major League Baseball debut on June 3, 2013, with the Los Angeles Dodgers when he was 22 years old. The right-handed center fielder earned an MLB All-Star honor during the 2014 season. He is a two-time National League Player of the Month and was named the National League Rookie of the Month in June of 2013. After his first season in the league, he earned All-Rookie team honors from the "Baseball America" publication. Puig played with the Dodgers until he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in December of 2018. He was involved in bench-clearing brawls in each of two losses to the Pittsburgh Pirates and earned a two-game suspension for his actions for the first offense. Just minutes after the second brawl four months later, it was announced he'd been traded to the Cleveland Indians. While with the Indians, he served his three-game suspension handed down due to his role in the second fight against the Pirates. In 2020, a deal fell through with the Atlanta Braves after Puig tested positive for COVID-19, and in April of 2021, he signed with El Aguila de Veracruz of the Mexican League. He was named Defensive Player of the Year following the season. Puig then signed with the Kiwoom Heroes of the KBO League in December of 2021.
Through the 2019 MLB season, Puig has amassed a .277 career batting average to go along with 834 hits, 132 home runs, and 415 runs batted in.
Getty Images
Contracts & Career Earnings
Yasiel Puig came to the United States and signed a seven-year, $42 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers that included a $12 million signing bonus. In 2019, he signed a one-year deal with the Cincinnati Reds worth $9.7 million to avoid arbitration. His one-year contract with the Kiwoom Heroes in 2021 was worth $1 million.
Over his MLB career, Yasiel Puig earned more than $51.6 million in salary alone.
Personal Life
Yasiel Puig became a United States citizen on August 14, 2019. He has four sons.
Puig has made headlines for several off-the-field incidents, including a 2013 reckless driving arrest in Tennessee. That charge was eventually dismissed after he completed community service. About seven months later, Puig was arrested for reckless driving a second time, though that charge was later dropped.
In 2016, Puig created the Wild Horse Children's Foundation to help kids and families in underserved communities by promoting healthier lives through sports, education, community, and wellness programs.
