Former MLB outfielder and coach Andy Van Slyke, whose son, Scott, is an outfielder for the Dodgers, delivered harsh criticism Thursday for one of his son's teammates.
During an interview with a St. Louis radio station, Van Slyke trashed Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig in his claim that ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw told Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi they should part ways with the sometimes-controversial Cuban outfielder.
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"When the best player — the highest paid player on the Los Angeles Dodgers — goes to the GM and tells him, or is asked what is the No. 1 need or what are the needs of the Los Angeles Dodgers club, this particular highest-paid player said, 'The first thing you need to do is get rid of Puig,'" Van Slyke told CBS Sports Radio 920. "That's all you need to know."
Puig has been a polarizing player for the Dodgers and played in just 79 games with a slash line of .255/322/.436 this past season while battling myriad nagging injuries.
Maybe the best part of Van Slyke's take on Puig was that he prefaced it by saying, "This is just between you and I," despite being on a radio show. But Puig wasn't the only MLB player at whom Van Slyke took shots.
Van Slyke, who was the Mariners' first base coach the past two seasons, used a question about where the Cardinals should bat Jason Heyward in their lineup to slam Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano.
"Some of Jason Heyward's success will depend on who's in front of him and who's behind him," Van Slyke began. "I had some good years in Pittsburgh, part of that was because I had Barry Bonds hitting behind me, and also Barry Bonds hitting in front of me. So, it kind of depends on where you hit.
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"It doesn't always work out because in Seattle, we had (Nelson) Cruz, who's probably the most dominant hitter I've ever personally seen for four months and Cano was hitting in front of him. You would think Cano would've had a terrific year, but he had probably the worst single year of an everyday player I've ever seen in 20 years at the big league level."
After hitting better than .300 for six straight seasons, Cano had a slash line of .287/.334/.446 in his second year with the Mariners after leaving the Yankees to accept a 10-year, $240 million contract in 2014. Cano hit 14 home runs and drove in 82 RBIs in his first season with the Mariners, and hit 21 homers but with only 79 RBIs in 2015.
"He was just the most awful player I've ever seen," Van Slyke continued before blasting the Mariners bulllpen and former closer Fernando Rodney for "blowing up" and being "horrible."
He then added that Cano is a good guy but didn't live up to expectations and "couldn't drive home Miss Daisy if he tried."
"He couldn't get a hit when it mattered," Van Slyke continued and later called Astros outfielder Colby Rasmus dumb. "He played the worst defense I've ever seen. He was the worst defensive player at second base I've ever seen.
"He couldn't catch the ball ... Robinson Cano cost the GM his job. The hitting coach got fired because of Cano and the manager and coaches got fired because of Cano. That's how much of an impact he has on the organization. He was the worst player and it cost people their jobs in the process."
Among those fired was Van Slyke, so this might be sour grapes. Taking down Puig, however, doesn't appear to really have any motive.