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Top Los Angeles Dodgers outfield prospect Yasiel Puig will miss the Arizona Fall League after undergoing a surgical procedure to repair a staph infection in his right elbow, reports Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
Puig is expected to miss the entire Arizona Fall League, which opened play Tuesday. He was assigned to the Mesa Solar Sox, along with eight other Dodgers prospects.
Gurnick notes that Puig is expected to be fully healed in three to five weeks, meaning his start of the 2013 season shouldn’t be impacted due to the surgery. The procedure cleaned the infected area and will require his throwing elbow to remain immobilized for another week.
The Dodgers signed Puig this summer to an eye-popping seven-year, $42 million contract. The 22-year-old was one of the final significant international free agents to sign prior to the new spending limits which were implemented on July 2. Puig was just the beginning of Los Angeles’ free-spending summer.
Puig did perform well during his first taste of professional baseball. He hit a combined .354/.442/.634 with 10 extra-base hits and 12 walks over 82 at-bats between rookie ball and high-A.