Yasiel Puig, who entered Saturday's game hitting .424 with four doubles, seven home runs, 16 RBIs and a .696 slugging percentage in 24 games, once received attention from the Phillies.

Puig defected from Cuba in June 2012 and signed a seven-year, $42 million contract with the Dodgers.

"We saw him and we liked him," Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "LA jumped up astronomically on him. Good for them; they did the right thing. It's a huge risk. It's paid off, so far."

Amaro said the Phillies also looked into other recent Cuban defectors like A's outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who signed a four-year, $36 million deal, and Cubs prospect Jorge Soler, who signed a nine-year, $30 million contract.

"We looked at them and had interesting conversations with their people," Amaro said. "But people decided it was worth the risk to go and throw big-time money at guys. You hope those things work out. Hideki Irabu didn't work out. [Jose] Contreras worked out on certain levels. [Rey] Ordonez. Dice-K [Daisuke Matsuzaka]. It's a risk."