When Major League Baseball suspended Joe Kelly eight games for his role in a minor dustup with Carlos Correa and the Houston Astros, outcry and support was not limited to the Los Angeles Dodgers clubhouse.
Several current and former players without ties to the organization voiced their disagreement with such a harsh penalty. When extrapolated for a regular season of normal length, Kelly’s suspension was the equivalent of 22 games.
He appealed and will serve a five-game suspension upon returning from the 10-day injured list. The ruling with Kelly has remained under a microscope amid punishments for Astros and Oakland Athletics being involved in a full-blown brawl, and for Texas Rangers relief pitcher Ian Gibaut intentionally throwing at Manny Machado.
Cincinnati Reds starter Trevor Bauer has been one of the more outspoke players — both in terms of the Astros’ sign-steal scandal and other mishaps by the league and in particular MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.
Having already voiced his support for Kelly, Bauer now is taking action by wearing “Free Joe Kelly” cleats in his start Wednesday night. Fans who purchase a t-shirt of the incident — though with Kelly disguised as a goat — are entered to win the cleats.
And the moment you've all been waiting for…..here's a look at my cleats for tonight's start. FREE JOE KELLY! If you want to be eligible for a chance to win these, see next tweet for details. pic.twitter.com/WR0LrNpgCC
— Trevor Bauer (@BauerOutage) August 19, 2020
You must buy this shirt before 11:59pm EST tonight from my site to be eligible for a chance to win. ALL proceeds will be going to Joe Kelly's charity of choice.https://t.co/FdToKgCk1J
— Trevor Bauer (@BauerOutage) August 19, 2020
However, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, MLB warned the Reds not to allow Bauer to wear the cleats:
MLB contacted the Reds and said the cleats are against the footwear regulations bargained by the league and the MLBPA, sources said. When a team official suggested Bauer intended to wear them, sources said, the league said that if umpires saw him sporting the shoes, he could be removed from the game.
Roberts spoke with MLB in attempt to clarify any perceived intent from Kelly, though argued to no avail. He’s remained perplexed by subsequent suspensions MLB has handed down.
Kelly takes aim at Dusty Baker, Correa
While Kelly did not hit any Astros batters when struggling with command during that fateful relief appearance, his intentions and targets were clear during a recent appearance on Ross Stripling’s “The Big Swing Podcast.”
Kelly accused Correa of spitting toward the Dodgers and he called Astros manager Dusty Baker a “bully” and body-shamer.
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