Outside The Confines: Yasiel Puig settlements went under the radar

In a new Washington Post story, it has emerged that back in 2017 former Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig settled financially with two different women who had accused him of sexual assault. Puig evidently paid both of these women a combined $325,000, but continued to deny the allegations against him.

I do recommend reading the original Washington Post article, by Gus Garcia-Roberts, but please be advised most of the articles about this story include very detailed descriptions of the assaults, so proceed with caution.

What is interesting about this is how it highlights the limitations MLB has in terms of taking action against players who have been accused of these terrible actions. From an article in Sports Illustrated by Joseph Salvador:

When allegations are made public, the commissioner will swiftly put the player on administrative leave as an investigation takes place. But if an allegation is made privately, MLB will not immediately put the player on leave, because that would make the allegations public. The confidentiality provisions are in place specifically for sensitive and potentially damaging allegations. To some extent, this also prohibits MLB from even telling a player’s team of any allegations they are facing unless it requires disciplinary action, per the Post.

This new information comes on the heels of Puig’s recent signing with a KBO baseball team last week, as well as recent allegations from a third woman, who made her accusations publicly.

Here’s more on the topic:

• Eric Stephen of True Blue LA digs into the situation.
• Jack Baer looks into it over at Yahoo Sports.

We won’t be getting into the details as all these reports cover them at length, but this is a very big story at the moment and we wanted to share some of the available information on it.

Now on to the rest of today’s links!

• Ben Clemens tries to determine how much teams are paying by WAR for free agents.
• Bradford Doolittle assesses how much each team has improved (though there’s certainly plenty of free agent signing still to be done).
• Jim Bowden, likewise, assigns grades to each American League teams for their offseason moves to date. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Manny Randhawa dives into the history of the expansion draft.
• This might be the best way to reveal a ballot I’ve ever seen.

• Amy Rosewater spotlights the good works of two umpires coming together to help those impacted by the Kentucky tornados.
• Eric Fisher looks at the new Endeavor’s baseball holding acquisition in OKC, scooping up the Dodgers Triple-A OKC Dodgers.
• Chris Rose speaks to Stephen J. Nesbitt about leaving MLB Network and his new role with Jomboy Media. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Jay Jaffe assesses the Hall of Fame consideration for Jimmy Rollins.
• Wait, this... isn’t how nicknames work...

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.