Wednesday’s Hot Clicks: Reds Outfielder Finds Out About Puig Trade From Fan Yelling at Him

MLB rumor season is wild.

MLB rumor season is wild

The MLB trade market finally heated up a bit on Tuesday night, when Yasiel Puig and Trevor Bauer swapped Ohio teams in a three-way deal involving the Indians, Reds and Padres. It was a deal that came seemingly out of nowhere for the Reds and was just as shocking to the players as it was to the fans. 

As reports started to trickle in about the trade, one fan in the stands at Great American Ball Park took it upon himself to begin informing Reds players of the deal. Leftfielder Jesse Winker was shocked when a fan yelled down that Puig was Cleveland-bound. 

Pretty much the same thing happened in February when Bryce Harper decided to sign with the Phillies. A bunch of fans behind the dugout at a spring training workout were reading off tweets to manager Gabe Kapler and the Phillies players, and that’s how they found out about their new superstar teammate. 

It has to be a surreal experience for a guy like Winker. Rumors don’t get any more unreliable than a stranger just screaming them at you. Winker has no idea of knowing whether the reports are legitimate or if the guy in the stands got duped by a fake Ken Rosenthal account, or even just making it all up to mess with him. And what are you supposed to do? Sneak back to the clubhouse and peek at your phone like Pablo Sandoval? At least he wasn’t learning he himself had been traded.

They died as they lived

It’s only fitting that Yasiel Puig and Trevor Bauer, two of the biggest personalities in baseball, were involved in some fireworks before they left town. 

Thanks to the trade, Indians fans’ final image of Bauer will always be him petulantly launching a ball over the centerfield fence. The pathetic stunt earned him a fine, but not a suspension. 

The always combustible Puig, on the other hand, was involved in a truly spectacular brawl just minutes after news broke that he would be heading to Cleveland. 

The star of the brawl, though, was Reds reliever Amir Garrett, whose fearlessness was captured in this incredible photograph. 

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Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.