Trevor Bauer, who was effectively suspended from Major League Baseball after his suspension expired for violating the league’s sexual assault policy, has reportedly agreed to play in Japan.
The Yokohama Bay Stars have agreed a one-year, $3 million deal with Bauer, Sanspo Sports reported Monday morning. Bauer’s representatives declined to comment and the team has not made an announcement, although one could come on Monday night, according to a person familiar with the matter but not authorized to talk about it.
The Dodgers released Bauer rather than putting him back on their roster. They remain liable for his $22.5 million salary this season. Had Bauer signed with another major league team, that team would have paid Bauer the $720,000 MLB minimum and the Dodgers would have paid the balance.
In December, a referee ended Bauer’s suspension, which would have lasted until the 2024 season. Had the suspension remained in effect, Bauer would not have been able to sign in Japan, where MLB suspensions are honored, a league official said Monday.
The 2020 National League winner Cy Young, Bauer, 32, signed a three-year, $102 million contract with the Dodgers ahead of the 2021 season. The suspension cost him – and saved the Dodgers – $37.5 million. He made 17 starts for the team, including his final MLB appearance on June 28, 2021.
The next day, a San Diego woman who met Bauer online filed a permanent restraining order against him and submitted medical records that showed that after the second of two sexual encounters with him, she was the victim of “assault by hand strangulation.” injury’ were diagnosed.
The restraining order was denied by a judge, who ruled that Bauer posed no future threat to the woman. Bauer claims the sex was rough but consensual and that the woman was not visibly hurt when she left his home after the encounter. He was not charged with any crime.
The league placed him on research leave and later suspended him. Although the umpire reduced the sentence from 324 games to 194, the suspension remains the longest ever handed down under MLB’s sexual assault and domestic violence policy.
Bauer insists he did nothing wrong. According to the Sanspo Sports report, Yokohama officials investigated and discussed these issues with Bauer before offering him a contract, but no details were reported.
Bauer sued six parties for defamation, including the San Diego woman, who then sued him for sexual assault. Three of the defamation lawsuits were dropped.
Bauer asked a U.S. District Court judge to dismiss the woman’s counterclaim against him, arguing that the fact that she did not get a restraining order necessarily meant that he had not committed an assault or assault.
In denying the motion, Judge James Selna wrote that “state court proceedings did not necessarily rule that Bauer did not commit abuse or assault. [her].”
Bauer’s lawyers told the woman, “No cash settlements or offers have ever been or will ever be made.” A hearing is scheduled for February next year. Any apology from Bauer is likely to be problematic for him in court.
Bauer is believed to be the second player to win a Cy Young Award and go on to play in Japan.
In 1962, before retiring at age 37, the big Dodgers Don Newcombe played a bye season for Chunichi as an outfielder and first baseman. Newcombe hit .262 with 12 home runs in 81 games and a .789 on-base plus slugging percentage.
Source: LA Times