Bauer suspended for 2 years over reported assault
Will cost Dodgers RHP $60 million
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer was suspended Friday for a record two full seasons without pay by Major League Baseball for violating the league’s domestic violence and sexual assault policy, which he denies.
Bauer’s suspension — which will cover 324 games without pay — comes after a San Diego woman, whom the pitcher had met through social media, alleged that Bauer beat and sexually abused her last year. She later sought but was denied a restraining order.
Los Angeles prosecutors said in February there was insufficient evidence to prove the woman’s accusations beyond a reasonable doubt.
Bauer, who hasn’t played since the allegations surfaced and MLB began investigating, repeatedly has said that everything that happened between the two was consensual.
“In the strongest possible terms, I deny committing any violation of the league’s domestic violence and sexual assault policy,” he said Friday in a statement. “I am appealing this action and expect to prevail. As we have throughout this process, my representatives and I respect the confidentiality of the proceedings.”
If the suspension is upheld, Bauer will lose about $60 million in salary.
The previous longest suspension under the policy was a full season and postseason for free agent pitcher Sam Dyson in 2021.
The policy unveiled in August 2015 grants MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred the autonomy to suspend players with “just cause.”
A person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press the next step is for Bauer’s representatives and the players’ association to work out a schedule with MLB for taking the case before an arbitrator. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the process was not made public.
Bauer this week sued his accuser in federal court, a move that came less than three months after prosecutors decided not to file criminal charges against the pitcher. Bauer named the woman and one of her attorneys, Niranjan Fred Thiagarajah, as defendants in the lawsuit. The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they have been victims of sexual assault.
The lawsuit said that “the damage to Mr. Bauer has been extreme” after the woman alleged that he had choked her into unconsciousness, punched her repeatedly and had anal sex with her without her consent during two sexual encounters last year.
The pitcher has said the two engaged in rough sex at his Pasadena home at her suggestion and followed guidelines they agreed to in advance. Each encounter ended with them joking and her spending the night, he said.
Bauer was placed on administrative leave July 2 under the joint domestic violence and sexual assault policy of MLB and the players’ association. The leave had been repeatedly extended and Bauer continued to be paid his $32 million salary while on leave. He stopped getting paid Friday; he stands to lose $28 million this year and $32 million next year.