Reds P Trevor Bauer said that he was told by MLB he "could be subject to discipline and removal from a game if he wears custom-made cleats that say 'FREE JOE KELLY' on one shoe and have a pouty-faced illustration of the suspended Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher on the other," according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.com. Bauer yesterday tweeted a video of the shoes and said that he "planned to wear them during his start" last night in the second game of a doubleheader against the Royals. In a second tweet, Bauer said that he "planned to give away the cleats to a person who purchases a T-shirt on his website of a goat with Kelly's sad face that said 'DEAL WITH IT.'" In the tweet, Bauer said that all proceeds "would go to Kelly's charity of choice." Bauer said MLB "told us that they had a new cleat policy this year, where they're allowing us to put kinda whatever we want on the cleats, as long as it wasn't offensive or political. Apparently that's not the truth; apparently that's just ... if they agree with it or not." Sources said that MLB contacted the Reds and said that the cleats are "against the footwear regulations bargained by the league and the Major League Baseball Players Association" (ESPN.com, 8/19).
