United States District Judge Judge Dolly M. Gee has set a trial date for Yasiel Puig in his federal criminal case, where he is charged with two counts of making false statements to federal investigators and one count of obstruction of justice in the Central District of California.
Barring any further delays, Puig’s trial will began at 8:30 a.m. PST at the United States Courthouse in Los Angeles before Judge Gee. The case, which was filed in August 2022, was held up for by an appeal regarding the admissibility of the facts of a plea agreement Puig had reached with the government that he later reneged upon.
Puig’s case stems from the federal investigations into illegal sports gambling operations run by former minor league baseball player Wayne Nix and others in California, where sports gambling is illegal at the state level.
Puig no longer plays professionally in the United States. When the case against him was first filed, Puig played for the Kiwoom Heroes of South Korea’s KBO League. He’s since played winter ball for the Estrellas Orientales of LIDOM, the Tiburones de La Guaira in the Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional, played part of the summer of 2024 for Veracruz in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol and returned to the Kiwoom Heroes for the summer of 2025 before his season was cut short by a knee injury in May.
During the 2023-24 winter ball season, Puig was rumored to have drawn significant interest from several Major League Baseball clubs, but ultimately never signed a contract and has not returned to MLB.
Each count of making a false statement carries up to five years in prison, while the obstruction of justice charge carries up to a 10-year term of imprisonment should Puig be convicted at trial.
On Aug.4, Puig released a statement via his X account regarding the trial.
This is the process.
Believing in yourself when you feel the world has discarded you, when you are left hoarse from trying to speak your truth.
I refuse to disappear in silence, I will continue to fight to reach my dream.
If I can fight being thrown in jail in Cuba 13 times…— Yasiel Puig (@YasielPuig) August 5, 2025
Puig’s case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, and is No. 22-cr-00394.
Photo: Yasiel Puig of the Kiwoom Heroes hits a ball during the opening game of the 2022 regular season for the Korea Baseball Organization in Seoul, April 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)
