Trevor Bauer Can Still Pitch. MLB Teams Don’t Care.

Fans of multiple MLB franchises are clamoring for their teams to sign free-agent pitcher Trevor Bauer. The 2020 N.L. Cy Young award winner, once accused of multiple counts of sexual assault, made headlines earlier this week when he made an impressive outing against a group of Dodgers prospects at spring training. No MLB scouts were in attendance.

In order to pitch in an exhibition against minor leaguers at the Dodgers’ spring training camp, Bauer paid to join Team Asian Breeze, a traveling Japanese team. Bauer’s fastball was clocked at 99 miles per hour on several pitches in three scoreless innings. The pitcher insists that he still belongs in Major League Baseball.

“I’m just asking for the league minimum, so it’s not a money thing,” Bauer said, according to ESPN. “I’ve served my suspension twice over. I’ve been cleared of everything in the legal system. If you think about it logically, there’s really no reason why I shouldn’t have a job.”

Bauer has not pitched in MLB since 2021 after multiple women came forward accusing him of sexual assault. He eventually settled a pair of civil lawsuits in 2023 and avoided criminal charges.

MLB placed Bauer on administrative leave in July 2021 and eventually suspended him for 194 games after an original 324-game ruling was appealed. He was released by the Dodgers in January 2023 and played for the Yokohama DeNa BayStars of the Japanese Central League last year.

With Bauer, now 33, technically eligible to return to MLB, several teams have been asked if they would consider signing him to a short-term deal. The Yankees and Twins, both teams in need of starting pitching, have recently joined a slew of their rivals to go on the record saying they have no interest. The Dodgers, Bauer’s most recent MLB team, are also maintaining their distance after speaking out against the Cy Young winner early last year.

“Two extensive reviews of all the available evidence in this case … concluded that Mr. Bauer’s actions warranted the longest ever active player suspension in our sport for violations of this policy,” the Dodgers said in a statement announcing his release. “Now that this process has been completed, and after careful consideration, we have decided that he will no longer be part of our organization.”

Based on his performance in Japan and his most recent spring training appearance, it appears that Bauer still has the ability to pitch at the professional level. So far though, teams are still holding out.

Article by Patrick Moquin