Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer was warned of possible discipline if he wore custom cleats that say “FREE JOE KELLY” on one shoe and have an illustration of the Dodgers pitcher on the other, Bauer told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Wednesday.
Kelly is currently on the injured list, but will have to serve a five-game suspension if he comes off the list. The suspension, which was initially for eight games, comes after MLB said the veteran reliever threw at Astros third baseman Alex Bregman and shortstop Carlos Correa on July 29.
The players’ association said Wednesday night that it was disgraced by the length of the ban.
“While we understand the concerns the league has regarding a bench-clearing incident this challenging season, we are disappointed with the decision,” the union said. “It was an unfair result for Joe Kelly to see the cases presented.”
MLB’s Code of Conduct states that “MLB and the Player’s Club shall each have discretionary rights to refuse any proposed design.” The regulations also state that cleats “may contain writings, illustrations and messages.”
While Bauer told ESPN that he believes the shoes fall within the regulations, ESPN says wearing them per penalty can lead to punishment.
“Players will be subject to progressive discipline for wearing designs that were not submitted for approval or for wearing shoes during a game that was denied approval by MLB or the Players’ Club,” the regulations state.
After the match, Bauer posted on Twitter that the league threatened to let him out if he took the field by wearing the cleats, and that a suspension and “unusual fines” would follow.
Bauer has long been an outspoken critic of the Astros. In a February essay in the Players’ Tribune, he wrote that he wished he had been wrong when he claimed in 2018 that Houston was cheating.
At the time, he claimed that the Astros pitchers were using an illegal substance to increase their spin rates, but he said that what is now known about the Houston cheat is one of the biggest spots on baseball in the history of the sport. .
“Personally, I think what’s happening in baseball right now is with the Black Sox scandal, and that it’s going to be talked about forever – more than steroids,” Bauer wrote. “Like the steroid era, you can say whatever you want about it, but steroids were not illegal at the time.”
The Reds are in action on Wednesday and look forward to the Royals.
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