Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles are seeking an 18-month prison term and three years of supervised release for Yasiel Puig, the former Major League Baseball outfielder who was convicted of lying to federal agents investigating a sports gambling ring in February.
The request was set forth in a 38-page sentencing memorandum filed in federal court in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Puig, who played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, and Cleveland Guardians, was convicted of two counts
“The government recommends that the Court impose the following sentence: (1) a low-end Guidelines sentence of 18 months’ imprisonment; (2) a three-year term of supervised release, with the terms and conditions recommended by the Probation Office; (3) a monetary fine of $55,000; and (4) a $200 special assessment,” the memorandum said before recounting the conduct that landed him in hot water, including that Puig “placed bets worth at least $75,000 while at MLB ballparks immediately before and after games in which he played.”
The memo also describes how Puig lied to federal investigators at a Aug. 14,2019 naturalization interview, stating under oath that he had neither gambled illegally nor received income from illegal gambling despite having received over $100,000 in income from gambling on sports with a bookmaking operation run by former minor league baseball player Wayne Nix.
In November 2022, Puig was charged in federal court in Los Angeles with a single count of lying to federal agents from Homeland Security and the Internal Revenue Service. The Cuban-born outfielder reached a plea agreement with prosecutors, but then changed his mind and declined to plead guilty to the count of making a false statement.
After Puig declined to plead guilty, the government charged Puig with a second count of making false statements as well as obstruction of justice and quickly moved to declare Puig in breach of the plea agreement, which contained a waiver of Puig’s right to not have the factual basis of his plea agreement admitted as evidence at a subsequent trial.
Puig made his debut for the Canadian Baseball League’s Toronto Maple Leafs last weekend, hitting a pair of homers and driving in four runs in the Leafs’ season opening 8-6 win against the Kitchener Panthers at Christie Pits in Toronto. He hasn’t played in the United States since 2019, when he played 149 games for the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds. During the 2023-24 winter ball season, Puig was rumored to have drawn significant interest from several MLB clubs, but ultimately never signed a contract and did not return to MLB.
Puig’s sentencing is scheduled for 11 a.m. PDT on May 26, 2026, in federal court in Los Angeles.
Photo: Venezuela’s Yasiel Puig heads to first after drawing a bases loaded walk to score Ehire Adrianza during the third inning of a Caribbean Series baseball game against Curacao, Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
