Only Bryce Harper can fill Yasiel Puig’s shoes.

We’re not just talking as a power-hitting corner outfielder. We’re talking as a guy in Dodger blue who’ll rile Giants fans and players as Puig did so magnificently and flamboyantly for several years.

The Dodgers shipped Puig and three others to Cincinnati last week, far removed from a heated rivalry that often featured him. The trade not only created room in the Dodgers’ outfield but cleared millions in their payroll.

Harper, who can agitate foes every bit as well as Puig, would be a perfect fit in Los Angeles, and realizing the reaction he gets at China Basin as a National, imagine the love he’d receive if he showed up as a Dodger. It would be Lasorda-esque.

One of the beauties of the rivalry has been how Puig and Madison Bumgarner got along, and suddenly that’s a major void. It was fascinating old school-vs.-new school drama, and it frequently involved heavy doses of staring, barking and gesturing.

It won’t be the same when Puig comes to San Francisco in mid-May during the Reds’ only visit next season. Puig will be missed in these parts. Few players are as multitalented. Who else has the combination of a power bat and power arm with enough speed to track balls from gap to corner and swipe 15 bags a season?

Puig also is known for helping to bring a new level of emotion into the mainstream, one of many young stars to buck traditionalists who think players should remain poker-faced after a big play or hit. The establishment, trying to lure young fans, is starting to lean in Puig’s direction.

In a Major League Baseball-produced commercial that ran throughout the postseason, Puig is seen in separate clips flipping his bat and wagging his tongue. Other players are being equally demonstrative, and the ending shows Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., in a backward cap, saying, “No more talk. Let the kids play.”

Bumgarner is a traditionalist who doesn’t care much for modern-day theatrics, and several Bumgarner-vs.-Puig matchups showcased the different mentalities. That’s all gone from this rivalry, and that’s a shame. But Harper in Dodger blue is a good alternative.

John Shea is The San Francisco Chronicle’s national baseball writer. Email: jshea@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JohnSheaHey