Dodgers' Friedman: Kershaw never told me to trade Puig

Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said Tuesday that Clayton Kershaw never told him to trade Yasiel Puig, the polarizing outfielder whose name continues to surface in rumors.

Earlier this offseason, Andy Van Slyke - the father of Dodgers outfielder Scott Van Slyke - said "the highest-paid player on the team" told Friedman "the first thing you need to do is get rid of Puig," when asked about the club's biggest needs.

Van Slyke never mentioned Kershaw's name, but the left-hander's seven-year contract features an average annual value of $30.7 million - the highest ever for a pitcher - and he'll earn nearly $13 million more in 2016 than the club's next-highest paid player, Adrian Gonzalez.

Still, reports of Puig's waning popularity in the clubhouse have festered in recent months, with one Dodgers player telling Yahoo's Jeff Passan back in June that getting rid of the talented Cuban "would be addition by subtraction."

In her account of the Dodgers' 2014 season, author Molly Knight detailed an incident in which Puig argued with pitcher Zack Greinke and nearly came to blows with infielder Justin Turner, after a disagreement over whether a member of Puig's entourage should be allowed on a flight that typically includes wives and girlfriends.

Major League Baseball is currently investigating Puig, too, for his role in a fight at an upscale Miami bar last week, though no charges were filed. Since his 2013 debut with the Dodgers, Puig has been arrested twice for driving violations.

Puig, an All-Star in 2014, battled injury and regression this season, posting career-lows in batting average (.255), on-base percentage (.322), and slugging percentage (.436) while appearing in just 79 games due to hamstring and hand issues.