It has now been about a month since the Dodgers signed Cuban outfielder Yasiel Puig and brought him to extended Spring Training in Glendale, Arizona, and yet Puig is yet to suit up in a game that counts.
As a comparison, Jorge Soler, the other highly-coveted Cuban defector who signed a few days before Puig, has played three games for the Chicago Cubs' Arizona League affiliate.
While it may be entirely possible that the Dodgers are just taking their time to get Puig assimilated to a new culture, another possibility that can't help but creep into my mind is that the team may be waiting for Puig to cycle off of some kind of performance enhancer so as to avoid the chance of a suspension.
Drug testing is always a dicey subject when it comes to non-affiliated international leagues, with players and agents often doing whatever it takes to catch the attention of a major league team so as to achieve a big pay day.
For the sake of the Dodgers, I sincerely hope this isn't the case and that Puig winds up making a positive contribution to the team in the near future, but until he hits the field, there will always be those who question the team's investment.
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