Trevor Bauer’s plan to wear ‘Free Joe Kelly’ cleats thwarted by MLB

Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer planned to wear cleats with Joe Kelly’s face on one shoe and “FREE JOE KELLY” on the other during Wednesday’s game against Kansas City, in support of the suspended Dodgers pitcher, while also raising money charity.

Bauer planned to give away the cleats to a random person who bought a shirt from his website, with all the proceeds going to a charity of Kelly’s choice.

However, Bauer’s plan to wear the cleats during Wednesday’s game was halted by MLB. From Jeff Passan at ESPN:

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.

Bauer did wear the cleats during warmups on the field before the game:

Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Kelly was suspended for five games for throwing at Alex Bregman in Houston on July 28. He’s currently on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation and will serve the suspension once he is activated.

Links

• Molly Knight at The Athletic detailed how the duties of Mitch Poole, Dodgers lifer and current visiting clubhouse manager at Dodger Stadium, have changed during a pandemic.
• Sarah Langs at MLB.com dug into Cody Bellinger’s confounding start to the season.
• Also regarding Bellinger, a few days ago Dan Szymborski at FanGraphs said Bellinger’s slump isn’t just a small sample size woe.
• Jay Jaffe at FanGraphs, author of The Cooperstown Casebook, says Mookie Betts is building a case for the Hall of Fame.
• Bill Plunkett at the Orange County Register wrote a little more on Betts as a part-time hitting coach in his spare time.