CLEVELAND -- Just prior to 10 p.m. on Tuesday night, the Cleveland Indians agreed in principle to a three-team trade, headlined by their acquisition of right fielder Yasiel Puig from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for starting pitcher Trevor Bauer.
Still needing to dot the i's and cross the t's in the deal that also involved the San Diego Padres, Puig officially remained a member of the Reds -- as evidenced by his placement of right field in Cincinnati's ongoing matchup with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
That Puig hadn't yet been pulled from the game, in and of itself, was odd, although understandable for the Indians considering that the trade wasn't yet official. What was less ideal, however, was that moments later, Puig was involved in a bench-clearing brawl, which will likely result in him beginning his Cleveland career suspended for a game or two.
Asked how they processed watching a player they had just agreed to trade for be involved in a fight while still with his soon-to-be-former team, both Indians president Chris Antonetti and general manager Mike Chernoff each couldn't help but crack as a smile.
"We've almost come to expect surreal things any time we go to complete trades," Antonetti said. "Going back to Ubaldo Jimenez warming up with [the Colorado Rockies] at the time we were trading for him and watching him pitching 40-something pitches in an inning and then having him do a physical after that. So we've almost come to expect it."
Antonetti also added: "We would prefer for that brawl not to happen last night, but it's part of the deal."
Antonetti said he and Chernoff were in manager Terry Francona's office at the time of the brawl -- presumably discussing the deal that had just been agreed to.
"We flipped it on," Chernoff said.
"And then we saw that," Antonetti added.
Despite Puig's polarizing personality, Antonetti, Chernoff and Francona each believe that he'll fit in seamlessly to the culture that's been established within the Cleveland clubhouse.
"One of the things we feel the most confident in is the culture of the clubhouse under Tito," Antonetti said. "We think Yasiel will come in and fit in well, guys will embrace him."
Depending on his impending suspension, they just might have to wait a little bit longer than originally expected to do so.
