Dodgers Designate Trevor Bauer for Assignment After Reinstatement

The Los Angeles pitcher initially was suspended 324 games for violating the league’s domestic violence policy.

Editors’ note: This story contains graphic accounts of domestic violence and sexual assault. If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault or domestic violence, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or the Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.

After his 324-game suspension for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy was reduced to 194 games and he was reinstated, the Dodgers are cutting ties with Trevor Bauer.

The franchise released a statement Friday evening, saying that it “fully cooperated with MLB’s investigation and strictly followed the process under MLB’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.”

“Now that this process has been completed, and after careful consideration, we have decided that he will no longer be part of our organization," the statement read.

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— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 7, 2023

ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that Los Angeles designated Bauer for assignment and he can sign with any MLB team for the $720,000 minimum and can play immediately. The franchise will reportedly owe him $22.5 million with this move. Per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, the Dodgers have until 2 p.m. ET on Thursday to trade him, and he must be placed on unrestricted waivers after that time passes.

If a franchise does not claim Bauer, he will become a free agent. Bauer’s suspension had been reduced to 194 games by an independent arbitrator, essentially giving him credit for time served and making him eligible to pitch in 2023. 

Bauer, who will be 32 this month, has not pitched since June 2021 while on administrative leave before eventually receiving the suspension. It remains the longest suspension for domestic violence in MLB history.

Bauer tweeted a statement, saying this his representatives—Jon Fetterolf, Shawn Holley and Rachel Luba—spoke to the Dodgers leadership immediately after the franchise made its arbitration decision.

“Following two weeks of conversations around my return to the organization, I sat down with Dodgers leadership in Arizona yesterday who told me that they wanted me to return and pitch for the team this year,” the statement read. “While I am disappointed by the organization’s decision today, I appreciate the wealth of support I’ve received from the Dodgers clubhouse. I wish the players all the best and look forward to competing elsewhere.”

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— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) January 7, 2023

MLB suspended Bauer in April for two full seasons after a nine-month investigation, which began when a San Diego woman filed a petition seeking a restraining order against him June 29, 2021. The woman said Bauer assaulted her during two encounters of rough sex that began consensually. She said he choked her until she lost consciousness, sodomized her and punched her hard enough that she sought treatment at a hospital. 

“I felt like my soul left my body, and I was terrified,” the woman said during a hearing in August, according to the Associated Press. Bauer and his representatives have denied the allegations.

Following the August hearing, the woman was denied a restraining order. The court ultimately found that the woman’s claims were “materially misleading,” and Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman said the only evidence of anything happening while the woman was unconscious was from being “hit on the butt.”

The Los Angeles district attorney’s office decided in February 2022 not to file criminal charges against Bauer. Three months later, MLB suspended him, and Bauer later appealed.

Per The Washington Post, MLB investigated two reports made by other women: one that occurred in 2017 and another dating back to ‘13. Both women were from Ohio, and the former sought a temporary order of protection in ’20. It was granted; however, she dropped it after six weeks. The latter woman said that Bauer choked her unconscious without consent during multiple encounters. Bauer denied both allegations, and authorities did not press charges in either incident.

Bauer and his legal team have continued to deny the allegations. Bauer filed separate defamation lawsuits against at least two media outlets and the San Diego woman, who countersued him, alleging battery and sexual assault. In November, a judge denied Bauer’s petition to dismiss her countersuit.