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Post by Blunashun on Jan 13, 2023 2:00:11 GMT
Will Trevor Bauer play Major League Baseball again? What executives around the league are saying
Story by Mike DiGiovanna • 6h ago
Trevor Bauer became a free agent on Thursday, but the market will be a lot more hostile toward the 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner than it was two winters ago, when Bauer signed a three-year, $102-million deal with the Dodgers after turning down a lucrative offer from the New York Mets.
“The only guy who I know for sure would sign him is Al Davis,” one high-ranking major league executive said, referring to the renegade Oakland Raiders owner who relished his organization’s bad-boy image right up until his death in 2011.
Bauer was designated for assignment last Friday, the Dodgers choosing to sever ties with the right-hander — and swallow the remaining $22.5 million on his contract — rather than face the potential public backlash of retaining him.
The Dodgers were unable to trade Bauer by Thursday, the end of a seven-day window in which they had to deal him, and the embattled pitcher was given his unconditional release.
Bauer, 32, is eligible to return this season after his 324-game suspension for a violation of Major League Baseball’s sexual assault and domestic violence policy was reduced by an arbitrator to 194 games on Dec. 22, a decision the MLB said it “will abide by” despite its belief that “a longer suspension was warranted.”
The Dodgers had 14 days from that point to reinstate or release Bauer, and they went all the way up to last Friday’s end-of-business-day deadline, even meeting with Bauer in Arizona the day before, to announce in a one-paragraph press release that Bauer “will no longer be part of our organization.”
The odds of a deal in the week the Dodgers had to trade him were remote considering any team interested in Bauer could sign him for the major league minimum salary of $720,000 and not give up any prospects.
Bauer is now free to pursue a job with any team, but is there a team willing to employ him?
The Times reached out to 16 front-office executives, most of them team presidents and general managers, to see whether they had any interest in signing Bauer, who went 8-5 with a 2.59 ERA in 17 starts with the Dodgers in 2021 but hasn’t pitched in a professional game in 19 months.
Of the 11 who responded, seven were a hard “no,” one said, “I doubt it,” one said, “We are probably out,” and two declined to comment altogether, with one of those executives saying, "I’m not touching that topic.”
But that doesn’t necessarily mean MLB has seen the last of Bauer, who has an 83-69 career record and 3.79 ERA in 10 big league seasons and won his Cy Young Award with the Cincinnati Reds in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
“He’s so affordable, I wouldn’t be surprised if somebody does sign him and weathers the storm for spring training and the first two weeks of the season and then hopes it kind of dies down,” said one GM who was granted anonymity to speak freely about the situation.
“Maybe it’s not spring training [that Bauer signs], maybe it’s May 1 or June 1, maybe it’s more strategically timed for a team to get out of spring training and avoid the early noise, but I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t play again.”
A San Diego woman who met Bauer in May of 2021 requested a restraining order against him, providing medical records that showed she was diagnosed with “assault by manual strangulation” and “acute head injury” after the second of two sexual encounters with Bauer.
The restraining order was denied by a judge who ruled Bauer posed no future threat to the woman. Bauer maintains the sex was rough but consensual. He has not been charged with a crime but still received the longest suspension ever levied under baseball’s domestic violence policy.
Bauer’s case is also the only one with more than one publicly known accuser; two Ohio women made similar allegations to the Washington Post, which the league considered in determining Bauer’s suspension.
“I’ve asked my wife, I’ve asked the wife [of another team executive], how would you feel if we, as an organization, signed someone with this type of history,” another GM said. “The responses were not favorable.”
The Houston Astros acquired Roberto Osuna from the Toronto Blue Jays at the trade deadline in 2018 while the closer was serving a 75-game suspension in the wake of his arrest in Toronto for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend.
Osuna went 4-3 with a 2.63 ERA and 38 saves in 2019 for the Astros, who lost a seven-game World Series to Washington, but he missed most of 2020 because of an elbow injury and was let go after the season.
Osuna pitched in Mexico in 2021 and in Japan in 2022, going 4-1 with an 0.91 ERA and 10 saves in 29 games for the Chiba Lotte Marines last season, but he is struggling to find another major league job.
Bauer will likely face similar roadblocks as he attempts to return.
“Obviously,” one GM said, “it’s a delicate subject.”
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Post by Blunashun on Jan 13, 2023 2:16:24 GMT
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Post by Blunashun on Jan 13, 2023 2:22:11 GMT
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Post by Blunashun on Feb 2, 2023 15:15:33 GMT
Dodgers ‘comfortable’ with the way Trevor Bauer situation played out
Story by Bill Plunkett, Los Angeles Daily News • Yesterday 7:59 PM
LOS ANGELES — For 18 months after sexual assault allegations against Trevor Bauer became public, Dodgers officials were hesitant to say anything about the situation, saying they would let the process put in place by MLB and the players’ union play out before making any comments.
That process has played out, resulting in the longest suspension in the history of MLB’s domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy (194 games, reduced from its original 324 games after Bauer appealed) and ultimately in Bauer’s release by the Dodgers earlier this month.
And the Dodgers still don’t really want to talk about it.
Answering questions on the topic from a small group of reporters for the first time Wednesday, team president Stan Kasten and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman were cautious and circumspect, unable to respond directly because of the confidential nature of MLB’s investigation (not even disclosed to the team) and rules governing comments about free agents – and unwilling to risk challenging Bauer’s well-established willingness to litigate.
“All of you know … this wasn’t unanimous out in the real world among fans or other media or whatnot,” Kasten said of the decision to release Bauer. “But the decision we reached was unanimous among the people that were charged with having to make the decision.”
Kasten acknowledged that the Dodgers were caught by surprise by the timing of the arbitrator’s decision, coming as it did just days before Christmas with MLB and teams about to close their offices for the holiday.
With 14 days to make a decision on adding Bauer back to their roster, the Dodgers used every bit of it before designating him for assignment – a delay Kasten defended, saying the Dodgers wanted to “check all our bases, get all the input you could get to make a decision.”
That included a meeting between Dodgers officials and Bauer in Arizona, their first communication since Bauer was put on administrative leave in July 2021. In a statement released by Bauer, he claimed that at that meeting the Dodgers “told me they wanted me to return and pitch for the team this year.”
Kasten and Friedman would not address that claim directly. But indirectly, they made it clear that was not their version of the conversation.
“We wouldn’t even have talked about the meeting except someone else put it out there,” Kasten said, not using Bauer’s name. “So I don’t want to talk about what happened. I don’t think that’s fair. I don’t want to talk about what went on, what was discussed or who was there. We did hear from him. I thought it was the right thing to do. I’m happy that we did it along with everything else that we did to reach the best decision that we could and I stand by our decision. I’m very comfortable with it.”
Kasten also dismissed questions about whether there were any conditions under which Bauer could have returned to the Dodgers.
“I don’t want to talk about hypotheticals. I won’t talk about hypotheticals,” he said.
“Look – we made our decision. We’ll live or die with whatever anyone thinks about it. But we are very comfortable with the decision and the process that we utilized to get there.”
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Post by jrgreene6 on Feb 2, 2023 19:12:21 GMT
Dodgers ‘comfortable’ with the way Trevor Bauer situation played out Story by Bill Plunkett, Los Angeles Daily News • Yesterday 7:59 PM LOS ANGELES — For 18 months after sexual assault allegations against Trevor Bauer became public, Dodgers officials were hesitant to say anything about the situation, saying they would let the process put in place by MLB and the players’ union play out before making any comments. That process has played out, resulting in the longest suspension in the history of MLB’s domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy (194 games, reduced from its original 324 games after Bauer appealed) and ultimately in Bauer’s release by the Dodgers earlier this month. And the Dodgers still don’t really want to talk about it. Answering questions on the topic from a small group of reporters for the first time Wednesday, team president Stan Kasten and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman were cautious and circumspect, unable to respond directly because of the confidential nature of MLB’s investigation (not even disclosed to the team) and rules governing comments about free agents – and unwilling to risk challenging Bauer’s well-established willingness to litigate. “All of you know … this wasn’t unanimous out in the real world among fans or other media or whatnot,” Kasten said of the decision to release Bauer. “But the decision we reached was unanimous among the people that were charged with having to make the decision.” Kasten acknowledged that the Dodgers were caught by surprise by the timing of the arbitrator’s decision, coming as it did just days before Christmas with MLB and teams about to close their offices for the holiday. With 14 days to make a decision on adding Bauer back to their roster, the Dodgers used every bit of it before designating him for assignment – a delay Kasten defended, saying the Dodgers wanted to “check all our bases, get all the input you could get to make a decision.” That included a meeting between Dodgers officials and Bauer in Arizona, their first communication since Bauer was put on administrative leave in July 2021. In a statement released by Bauer, he claimed that at that meeting the Dodgers “told me they wanted me to return and pitch for the team this year.” Kasten and Friedman would not address that claim directly. But indirectly, they made it clear that was not their version of the conversation. “We wouldn’t even have talked about the meeting except someone else put it out there,” Kasten said, not using Bauer’s name. “So I don’t want to talk about what happened. I don’t think that’s fair. I don’t want to talk about what went on, what was discussed or who was there. We did hear from him. I thought it was the right thing to do. I’m happy that we did it along with everything else that we did to reach the best decision that we could and I stand by our decision. I’m very comfortable with it.” Kasten also dismissed questions about whether there were any conditions under which Bauer could have returned to the Dodgers. “I don’t want to talk about hypotheticals. I won’t talk about hypotheticals,” he said. “Look – we made our decision. We’ll live or die with whatever anyone thinks about it. But we are very comfortable with the decision and the process that we utilized to get there.” ”Hello - Jackie Childs & Associates? This is Trevor Bauer, former MLB starting pitcher for the LA Dodgers. Have I got a case for you!” GO DODGERS!!! |
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Post by Blunashun on Mar 14, 2023 0:44:43 GMT
Trevor Bauer, Japan's Yokohama BayStars Agree to Contract After Dodgers Exit
ADAM WELLS
MARCH 13, 2023
After being released by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Trevor Bauer is going to play professional baseball in Japan.
Bauer signed a contract with the Yokohama BayStars for the 2023 season, with Jon Heyman of the New York Post reporting the 32-year-old can make up to $4 million.
Japanese news outlet Sanspo.com (h/t Dylan Hernández of the Los Angeles Times) previously reported the deal.
The BayStars play in Nippon Professional Baseball, Japan's top league. They have made the postseason four times since 2016, including last season when they lost in the first stage of the Central League Climax Series to the Hanshin Tigers.
The Dodgers announced Jan. 6 that Bauer would "no longer be part of our organization" and designated him for assignment.
Bauer hasn't pitched in a game since June 28, 2021, after he was accused of sexual assault by a woman who filed for a temporary domestic violence restraining order against him.
Per a June 2021 report by The Athletic's Brittany Ghiroli and Katie Strang, the woman said she agreed to consensual sex with Bauer but "did not agree to be sexually assaulted."
She wrote in her filing that Bauer punched her in the face and vagina and strangled her until she lost consciousness during two sexual encounters. She also said he had penetrated her anally while unconscious without her prior consent.
In a statement to Ghiroli and Strang, Bauer's agent, Jon Fetterolf, said the allegations were "baseless, defamatory, and will be refuted to the fullest extent of the law."
A Los Angeles judge rescinded the restraining order against Bauer in August 2021. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced in February 2022 that the right-handed pitcher wouldn't face criminal charges.
Per Gus Garcia-Roberts and Molly Hensley-Clancy of the Washington Post, a woman from Ohio attempted to get a temporary order of protection against Bauer in 2020 when he played for the Cincinnati Reds.
In a separate report from April, Garcia-Roberts noted a different woman in Columbus, Ohio, said Bauer "choked her unconscious without her consent" and "slapped her without her consent" in sexual encounters between the two.
Major League Baseball initially placed Bauer on administrative leave as it investigated the allegations. He was suspended for 324 games (two full seasons) in April 2022 for violating MLB's joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy.
The suspension did not include the 99 games Bauer missed while on administrative leave. An arbitrator reduced his suspension to 194 games on appeal, retroactive to when it was first handed down.
The arbitrator also ruled Bauer would be fined for the first 50 games of the 2023 season. The Dodgers still owe him the $22.5 million remaining on the three-year, $102.1 million contract he signed in February 2021.
Signing in Japan will allow Bauer to pitch as soon as he's ready. The BayStars will open the 2023 regular season March 31 against Hanshin.
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Post by Blunashun on Mar 14, 2023 0:47:30 GMT
Bauer sounds like a real tool.
On the other hand, if he had punched her in the vagina, his fist would still be stuck up there. That's how often it's been used.
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jrgreene6
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Post by jrgreene6 on Jul 6, 2023 19:28:26 GMT
Bauer is now 5 - 0 in his last six starts with an ERA just a tick over two. His fastball was clocked at 99 mph and he threw a complete game, 128 pitch shutout last night.
Tell me this team couldn’t have used him in our rotation this year. Was he too expensive? Oh, that’s right - we’re still paying him $20 mil plus to pitch in Japan.
Was his arrest and conviction a factor? Uh - nope. Never arrested, convicted or even CHARGED for what was an OBVIOUS money grab by some San Diego slut.
Too controversial and unliked to keep? Never heard a single player state they wouldn’t welcome him back.
And if they can not only promote but also praise and award that Sisters freakshow, Bauer’s “actions” don’t amount to much more than heavy petting.
In the privacy of HIS OWN HOME and with not only verbal consent, but also ENCOURAGEMENT from his partners.
Hypocrisy - thy name is LA Dodgers.
GO DODGERS!!!
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Post by Blunashun on Jul 6, 2023 19:33:56 GMT
Bauer is now 5 - 0 in his last six starts with an ERA just a tick over two. His fastball was clocked at 99 mph and he threw a complete game, 128 pitch shutout last night. Tell me this team couldn’t have used him in our rotation this year. Was he too expensive? Oh, that’s right - we’re still paying him $20 mil plus to pitch in Japan. Was his arrest and conviction a factor? Uh - nope. Never arrested, convicted or even CHARGED for what was an OBVIOUS money grab by some San Diego slut. Too controversial and unliked to keep? Never heard a single player state they wouldn’t welcome him back. And if they can not only promote but also praise and award that Sisters freakshow, Bauer’s “actions” don’t amount to much more than heavy petting. In the privacy of HIS OWN HOME and with not only verbal consent, but also ENCOURAGEMENT from his partners. Hypocrisy - thy name is LA Dodgers. GO DODGERS!!! I wonder if that hooker is still listed. |
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Post by Blunashun on Jul 6, 2023 19:38:41 GMT
Yup. It's still there.
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jrgreene6
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Post by jrgreene6 on Jul 6, 2023 19:41:08 GMT
Bauer is now 5 - 0 in his last six starts with an ERA just a tick over two. His fastball was clocked at 99 mph and he threw a complete game, 128 pitch shutout last night. Tell me this team couldn’t have used him in our rotation this year. Was he too expensive? Oh, that’s right - we’re still paying him $20 mil plus to pitch in Japan. Was his arrest and conviction a factor? Uh - nope. Never arrested, convicted or even CHARGED for what was an OBVIOUS money grab by some San Diego slut. Too controversial and unliked to keep? Never heard a single player state they wouldn’t welcome him back. And if they can not only promote but also praise and award that Sisters freakshow, Bauer’s “actions” don’t amount to much more than heavy petting. In the privacy of HIS OWN HOME and with not only verbal consent, but also ENCOURAGEMENT from his partners. Hypocrisy - thy name is LA Dodgers. GO DODGERS!!! I wonder if that hooker is still listed. She probably jacked her rates and can honestly advertise as “the ‘ho that screwed Trevor Bauer - in more ways than one”. GO DODGERS!!! |
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Post by jrgreene6 on Jul 29, 2023 17:55:27 GMT
Imagine if LA hadn’t COMPLETELY PUSSED OUT and let this guy pitch out his contract this year. Add in Bells, and I’d put GOOD money on AT LEAST another 10 wins this year.
That would put us up by double digits over the entire division and the best record in MLB.
I’m glad they feel they “saved their reputation” by releasing him and instead endorsing that freakshow by the Sisters.
Respect is not something automatic - it needs to be earned and maintained. The Dodgers lost a GOOD DEAL of mine over these two incidents, not that they give a damn.
GO DODGERS!!!
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Post by Blunashun on Jul 29, 2023 22:20:28 GMT
Imagine if LA hadn’t COMPLETELY PUSSED OUT and let this guy pitch out his contract this year. Add in Bells, and I’d put GOOD money on AT LEAST another 10 wins this year. That would put us up by double digits over the entire division and the best record in MLB. I’m glad they feel they “saved their reputation” by releasing him and instead endorsing that freakshow by the Sisters. Respect is not something automatic - it needs to be earned and maintained. The Dodgers lost a GOOD DEAL of mine over these two incidents, not that they give a damn. GO DODGERS!!! I'm still 100% convinced Cody wouldn't be doing that here. I had a job as a young man. Treated it like shit. Came to think of the payroll checks as mine. Just desserts. I got fired. I spent the next 35 years of my life proving myself over & over. I even took a similar job with another company. All so I could redeem myself in my own eyes. It wasn't that I couldn't do the job. It was that I got raises for doing nothing the first time. Refereeing petty squabbles between people twice my age. I got sick of it. Cody getting non-tendered by the Dodgers was that cold hard slap in the face he needed. We were about the same age too. Obviously, Cody was much better compensated. Which probably only added to the illusion. He had plenty of time to heal. This wasn't so much physical as mental. Somewhere in the deep dark recesses of his mind, Bellinger knows this is true. The arbitration system needs to be fixed. |
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Post by jrgreene6 on Aug 16, 2023 21:05:25 GMT
Bauer just threw another shut out, has nine wins and 24 consecutive scoreless innings.
Great piece of work by Froggy and company letting this guy go while going all in on endorsing an ON FIELD freakshow for ALL to see (including children).
No one can’t tell me with a straight face that we couldn’t have used this guy in our rotation this year.
Hell - our magic number would likely be in the teens and it’s only mid-August.
That moral ground they chose to sit on certainly must look like a big puddle of mud at this point.
GO DODGERS!!!
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Post by jrgreene6 on Aug 25, 2023 20:23:10 GMT
Picked up W - 13 last night and also set a new team record for K’s in a single season.
And we’re paying him $25 mil to do it in another uniform and country.
Fantastic call by Kasten, Frogman and company. Never convicted or even charged for bullshit by a cash cow hooker.
Amazing how sport & celebrity murderers walk free among us, but a guy with a bit of a perfectly legal AND CONSENSUAL sex fetish is sent to exile in the East and have his career ruined by heresy.
GO DODGERS!!!
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