Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer has been out of Major League Baseball for three years.
In 2021, sexual assault allegations were raised against the 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner. The MLB initially placed Bauer on administrative leave, before eventually suspending him for 324 games. The suspension was later reduced to 194 games upon appeal.
The MLB determined that Bauer violated the league's Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. The league argued an independent arbitrator affirmed that Bauer violated the domestic violence policy.
"While we believe a longer suspension was warranted, MLB will abide by the neutral arbitrator’s decision, which upholds baseball’s longest-ever active player suspension for sexual assault or domestic violence," MLB said in a statement in 2022. "We understand this process was difficult for the witnesses involved and we thank them for their participation."
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Despite the reinstatement, the former All-Star pitcher recently suggested that the MLB will ultimately decide whether he signs with another team.
TREVOR BAUER, OUT OF MLB SINCE 2021, SAYS HE 'MAY HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE' BUT TO SUE LEAGUE
"Well one team told us it's not their decision, it's an mlb decision," Bauer wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, during an exchange with Cincinnati Reds fans.
Bauer also claimed that a club expressed concerns over the price associated with potentially signing him to a contract.
"One team told me I was "too expensive" even though I offered to play for minimum, another team told us they have covered some stuff up in the past that they don’t want the media digging into to find out about…" he wrote.
In a statement obtained by Mail Sport, an MLB spokesperson said Bauer is eligible to sign with any of its 30 clubs. "Trevor Bauer served the entirety of his discipline and is an unrestricted free agent available to sign a contract with any team," the statement read.
Bauer initially expressed excitement about the prospect of returning to the big leagues after he learned that an independent arbitrator had reinstated him.
"Can't wait to see y’all out at a stadium soon!" Bauer wrote on X in Dec. 2022. At the time, the ruling allowed Bauer to resume his career by the start of the 2023 season.
"While we are pleased that Mr. Bauer has been reinstated immediately, we disagree that any discipline should have been imposed," Bauer’s representatives, Jon Fetterolf, Shawn Holley and Rachel Luba, said in a statement in Dec. 2022. "That said, Mr. Bauer looks forward to his return to the field, where his goal remains to help his team win a World Series."
Bauer was never charged with a crime. His accuser sought but was denied a restraining order against him, and Los Angeles prosecutors said in Feb. 2022 that there was insufficient evidence to prove the woman’s accusations beyond a reasonable doubt.
Bauer sued his accuser in federal court in April 2022, a move that came less than three months after prosecutors decided not to file criminal charges against the pitcher.
Another woman, from Columbus, Ohio, told The Washington Post that Bauer repeatedly choked her without her consent and sexually assaulted her over the course of a years-long relationship. Bauer, in a statement through his representatives, said their relationship was "casual and wholly consensual."
Bauer ultimately spent the 2023 season in Nippon Baseball League in Japan. He landed with the Diablos Rojos del Mexico baseball team in March.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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