Bauer suspended two years for violating abuse policy
Major League Baseball has suspended Trevor Bauer, the star Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher accused by multiple women of assault, for 324 games, or two years, the longest suspension in the seven-year history of the league’s domestic violence and sexual assault policy.
In a statement released Friday, MLB cited an “extensive investigation” but did not detail the rationale behind the suspension. “In accordance with the terms of the Policy, the Commissioner’s Office will not issue any further statements at this point in time,” the statement read.
Bauer tweeted immediately upon the news breaking that he would appeal the suspension and “expect(s) to prevail.”
“In the strongest possible terms, I deny committing any violation of the league’s domestic violence & sexual assault policy,” Bauer’s tweet read, adding: “As we have throughout this process, my representatives & I respect the confidentiality of the proceedings.”
Bauer has not played since last June, when a Southern California woman filed a temporary restraining order against him, claiming that he punched her and choked her unconscious during sex, leaving her hospitalized. MLB opened an investigation soon after, and Bauer has been on paid administration leave ever since.
The suspension announced Friday is without pay and means that, if it is upheld, Bauer will not be eligible to play in MLB until late April 2024. Bauer can appeal to an independent arbitrator. The suspension is twice as long as the previous longest punishment, that of pitcher Sam Dyson last year.
Last summer, the Washington Post reported that Bauer had been the subject of a temporary restraining order sought by an Ohio woman who made similar allegations in 2020, the year Bauer, then pitching for Cincinnati, won the Cy Young Award as the National League’s best pitcher. Bauer denied her claims.
“We will let the action taken today by the MLB speak for itself,” the Ohio woman’s attorney, Joe Darwal, said Friday. The Washington Post does not typically name victims of alleged domestic violence unless they ask to be identified.
Bauer earned $38 million, a single-season record, from the Dodgers last year, despite missing the season’s second half and playoffs. He was still owed $64 million over the next two seasons by the Dodgers, which he will not be paid if the suspension is upheld.
The Dodgers said in a statement that the team “takes all allegations of this nature very seriously and does not condone or excuse any acts of domestic violence or sexual assault.”