Dodgers face Bauer deadline
The Dodgers have until Friday to add Trevor Bauer to their 40-man roster or release the righthander.
On Dec. 22, an arbitrator reduced Bauer’s 324-game suspension for domestic violence to 192 games and made him eligible for the coming season.
Bauer is entering the final year of a three-year, $102 million contract with the Dodgers. Los Angeles saved $37.5 million with the suspension — which will help allow it to get below the first luxury-tax threshold — but is responsible for $22.5 million this season.
That the Dodgers have not yet released Bauer suggests they are considering retaining him and are talking over the situation with their coaches and players.
If Bauer is released, another team could pick him up for the MLB minimum of $720,000. Bauer has not appeared in a game since June 28, 2021, but has maintained a throwing program.
Whether it’s the Dodgers or another team, adding Bauer to the roster would trigger immediate controversy given the nature of his suspension.
“A public relations nightmare,” one executive said. “But he only needs one team willing to put up with it.”
Bauer, at least, seems certain he will play. He is taking applications for a videographer to provide content for his website and social media channels during the season.
Extra bases
Roenis Elías appeared in four games for the Red Sox from 2016-17. The lefthander from Cuba has since played for the Mariners, Nationals, the Mariners again, and earlier this month signed a minor league deal with the Cubs. At 34, he may be on to something. Elias is 4-0 with a 0.92 ERA in seven starts for Aguilas in the Dominican League and has a streak of 37„ innings without an earned run. His teammates have included the now-37-year-old Melky Cabrera and Yoenis Céspedes, who is looking for another chance after two years out of the game . . . The
Braves made a potentially valuable under-the-radar move when they traded two prospects to the Yankees for lefthander Lucas Luetge, who had been designated for assignment. Luetge had a 2.71 ERA the last two seasons for the Yankees and throws a baffling curveball. Luetge also went more than an inning in 16 of his 50 appearances last season . . . The Orioles turned 151 double plays last season, second in the American League. Their infield defense, particularly on the left side with shortstop Jorge Mateo and third baseman
Ramón Urías, played a significant role in Baltimore winning 83 games. But the Orioles are planning to use 21-year-old
Gunnar Henderson at third and signed
Adam Frazier to play second. Urías, who won a Gold Glove this year, is projected as a utility player . . . Through Friday, lefthander Matt Moore was still on the free agent market. He had a 1.95 ERA in 63 appearances for Texas last season. Moore played for $2.5 million last season and is trying to land a better deal. At 33, that’s not unreasonable and the Red Sox are among the teams in need of another lefthander in the bullpen. Two notable former Yankees — Aroldis Chapman and Gary Sanchez — also are looking for spots. Chapman did not help his cause by essentially quitting on the Yankees at the end of last season after being left off the playoff roster for the Division Series. Sanchez has hit .195 with a .681 OPS the last three seasons
. . . In the antithesis of how the Red Sox are approaching their roster, the Braves have outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., second baseman Ozzie Albies, outfielder Michael Harris, catcher Sean Murphy, first baseman Matt Olson, third baseman Austin Riley, and righthander
Spencer Strider under contract through at least 2027 . . . Happy birthday to Nick Hagadone, who is 37. The lefthander was a first-round pick of the Red Sox in 2007 out of the University of Washington, then was traded to Cleveland at the 2009 deadline for Victor Martinez. The Sox included righthanders Justin Masterson and Bryan Price in the deal. Hagadone made 143 relief appearances for Cleveland from 2011-15. Hagadone left pro ball after the 2017 season and has since dabbled in investing, owning a coffee company, and pitching instruction . . . Only the Red Sox would be presumptuous enough to name a poet laureate. But Dick Flavin, who died Wednesday at the age of 86, wore the mantle comfortably. His was a rich New England life, growing up in Quincy and becoming, among other things, a speechwriter and spokesman for political giants such as Ted Kennedy and
Kevin White, a television journalist, and a satirist known for his commentaries on Channel 4 in the 1970s and ’80s. Along the way he wrote a play about Tip O’Neill, taught at Harvard, and lent his time and efforts to many charities. I suspect his favorite endeavor was being a public address announcer at Fenway. Running across Dick at the ballpark always made the day better, especially when he would share a story about Ted Williams or Dom DiMaggio. Rare is a person who always leaves you smiling, but he was one. Condolences to his friends and family.