Cincinnati Reds: Amir Garrett, Jared Hughes and David Bell suspended

Major League Baseball announced the fallout from Tuesday night’s melee at Great American Ball Park. Surprisingly, Keone Kela received the harshest penalty while three members of the Cincinnati Reds were also suspended.

Per Mark Feinstein of MLB.com, the league has handed down several suspensions stemming from Tuesday night’s brawl at Great American Ball Park. The Cincinnati Reds will be without Amir Garrett (8 games), David Bell (6 games), and Jared Hughes (3 games). Surprisingly, Keone Kela received the harshest penalty of 10 games for his role in the melee.

After Amir Garrett rushed the Pittsburgh Pirates dugout and sailed into the air looking to land a haymaker on pitcher Trevor Williams, you knew that the Reds reliever was going to receive a multiple-game suspension.

The same can be said for David Bell. The Cincinnati Reds skipper was ejected during the eighth inning for arguing balls and strikes on behalf of then Reds outfielder Yasiel Puig. Puig, who received a 3-game suspension himself, was not a fan of the umpire’s strike zone that evening. When Bell came out to argue, he was promptly tossed.

However, Bell returned to the field once the brawl ensued and made a beeline for Pirates manger Clint Hurdle. Bell was wrested to the ground by another member of the Pittsburgh coaching staff. When he got to his feet, Bell was irate with Hurdle. The Pirates manager was suspended for two games because of his team’s multiple attempts to hit Derek Dietrich this season.

Personally, I think Hurdle deserved a longer suspension. While he was not on the mound throwing the pitches, it’s clear that he doesn’t object to that type of behavior. David Bell is not the only manager who’s complained about the Pirates pitching approach this season. Joe Maddon lost his cool last month after Javier Baez received consecutive pitches up and in.

I find two things very surprising. First, the suspension of Jared Hughes. Three games seems a bit excessive for a player like Hughes who has no history of purposely throwing at an opposing hitter. Hughes hit Starling Marte in the top of the ninth inning with a 92-MPH fastball and was ejected. The only reason Hughes was ejected is because the benches had been warned previously.

Now, I must say that I’m pleasantly surprised that the league handed down a 10-game suspension for Pirates reliever Kenos Kela. The right-hander received the harshest penalty among anyone involved and it’s because his high and tight pitch that buzzed by Dietrich’s head incited the entire scuffle.

Jon Morosi of MLB Network is reporting that all the players who received suspensions are appealing, so until those appeals are heard, they will remain active. I’d expect the majority, if not all, of the suspensions to be upheld. If MLB wants to send a message that this type of behavior is unacceptable, I think they did a very fine job of penalizing those involved.