Dodgers want Yasiel Puig to lose weight

Reporting from BOCA RATON, Fla. â€”  The Dodgers want Yasiel Puig to resculpt his body this winter.

“That’s a focus,� said Andrew Friedman, the team’s president of baseball operations.

Puig was on the disabled list twice this year with hamstring injuries and played in only 79 games. Friedman cited his weight gain as a possible reason. Puig is listed at 255 pounds.

“He has continued to get bigger and stronger each year,� Friedman said. “It may not be the optimal size for him to play 150 games, 150-plus games.�

Puig is in regular contact with Brandon McDaniel, the team’s strength and conditioning coach.

“The reports have been great,� Friedman said.

Puig, who batted .255 with 11 home runs and 38 runs batted in, is one of the players the Dodgers are counting on to have a bounce-back season next year.

Rather than pursue any offensive-difference makers on the free-agent market, the Dodgers are looking for the likes of Puig, Joc Pederson and Yasmani Grandal to recover the form that made them All-Stars.

“If that happens, I think we have a chance to have one of the more dynamic offenses in the National League,� Friedman said.

In addition to Puig becoming leaner, Friedman said he would like to see Puig improve his swing mechanics.

“It’s just getting him back to what he was mechanically,� Friedman said.

Puig had a blister in his left hand in the middle of the season and Friedman believes that resulted in him developing bad habits at the plate.