Season is finished for Bauer

MLB, union extend leave for Dodgers pitcher again as charges considered and investigation continues.

With decisions on possible criminal charges and a potential suspension pending, Major League Baseball and the players union agreed Friday to extend Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer’s paid leave from the team through the end of the season.

Bauer has not pitched for the Dodgers since June 28, the day before a woman accused him of sexual assault and obtained a temporary restraining order against him. Bauer was put on leave July 2, and it has been extended nine times.

The short-term extensions had provided a path for Bauer to seek reinstatement if he were not charged. However, with three weeks left in the regular season, Bauer’s legal status unresolved and the league continuing its investigation, there was no realistic way for Bauer to return in time to pitch effectively this season.

“Today, Mr. Bauer agreed to extend his administrative leave through the playoffs in a measure of good faith and in an effort to minimize any distraction to the Dodgers organization and his teammates,” Bauer’s agents, Jon Fetterolf and Rachel Luba, said in a statement Friday. “He continues to cooperate with the MLB investigation and refute the baseless allegations against him.”

Bauer is in the first year of a three-year, $102-million contract. The Dodgers remain on the hook for his $28-million salary this season in addition to two $5-million signing bonuses.

Under MLB’s domestic violence and sexual assault policy, the right to discipline Bauer remains with the league until it concludes its investigation, or until Commissioner Rob Manfred transfers disciplinary authority to the Dodgers.

At that point, if the Dodgers wish to cut ties with Bauer, they can release him and pay off the balance of the contract, or they can try to void the deal and risk an almost certain grievance.