Fastball

Former Cy Young Winner Getting Shelled in NPB

Trevor Bauer has an ERA of 8.40 through three starts in the Japanese league, further hindering his ability to get back to Major League Baseball.

Brady Farkas

Former Cy Young Winner Getting Shelled in NPB
Former Cy Young Winner Getting Shelled in NPB /
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Former Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer's stint in Japan is not going well.

After serving a multi-year suspension (194 games) in the majors for violating the league's domestic violence policy -- and being released by the Los Angeles Dodgers -- Bauer signed with the Yokohama Baystars of the Nippon Professional Baseball League this offseason.

The popular baseball Twitter account @BaseballBrit chronicled his struggles:

Trevor Bauer pitched today in Japan but was pulled after 2 innings after giving up SEVEN earned runs. In 3 starts he has an 8.40 ERA.

While it's unknown whether any US-based team would bring Bauer in given the character concerns and suspension history, this performance certainly doesn't help his case of getting back to the majors.

The 32-year-old righthander has an 83-69 career record in the majors after having pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Guardians, Cincinnati Reds and the Dodgers. 

He was named to the American League All-Star team in 2018 and won the Cy Young in the National League during the COVID 2020 season. He went just 5-4 that year but pitched to a 1.73 ERA and had a league-leading two shutouts. He also helped the Reds to the playoffs that year.

With all the injuries around baseball pitching this year, it's conceivable that teams have been monitoring Bauer's statistics, but given his history, and the performance, it seems unlikely that teams will be calling him any time soon.

Bauer isn't the only former big leaguer playing in Yokohama. Former Mets pitcher Robert Gsellman is on the roster, as is former Yankees and Twins player Tyler Austin. 

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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