Trevor Bauer's 324-Game Suspension Reduced

Dodgers pitcher will be reinstated immediately, MLB says
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 29, 2022 4:30 PM CDT
Updated Dec 23, 2022 1:00 AM CST
MLB Suspends Trevor Bauer for 324 Games
Trevor Bauer reacts to a pitch call in a game against the San Francisco Giants in May 2021.   (AP Photo/D. Ross Cameron, File)
UPDATE Dec 23, 2022 1:00 AM CST

Trevor Bauer can return to Major League Baseball after an independent arbitrator on Thursday reduced his record 324-game suspension to 194 games. Bauer, the LA Dodgers pitcher who was accused of sexual assault last year, had appealed his suspension, which caused him to miss the entire 2022 season, or 144 games, USA Today reports. The arbitrator also gave him credit for the last half of the 2021 season that he spent on the league's restricted list, ESPN reports. The arbitrator's decision means Bauer will be reinstated Friday and eligible to play immediately, MLB reports, though the Dodgers will have until Jan. 6 to decide whether to return him to their roster or release him. He won't be paid for the first 50 games of the 2023 season, but will retain the rest of his $35.3 million salary for the year.

Apr 29, 2022 4:30 PM CDT

Trevor Bauer, the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher accused by a woman of sexually assaulting her twice last year, has been suspended for two years by Major League Baseball. The action, announced Friday by Commissioner Rob Manfred, is the most severe imposed yet under MLB's domestic violence policy, ESPN reports. Bauer immediately said that he'll appeal. "In the strongest possible terms, I deny committing any violation of the league's domestic violence and sexual assault policy," he said in a statement. The Dodgers said they won't comment until the appeal process is completed.

A California woman said she had two sexual encounters with Bauer, in April and May 2021, that became violent without her consent, per Yahoo Sports. He was placed on paid leave last July after the woman filed for a protection order, which was removed once it reached a judge. After an investigation by Pasadena police, the Los Angeles County district attorney declined to bring charges against Bauer, who has said the encounters were consensual, but MLB doesn't require a criminal conviction to act.

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The 81 regular-season games Bauer spent on administrative leave and the 18 so far this season do not count toward the 324-game suspension that took effect Friday. Unless it's overturned on appeal, Bauer will be out until 19 games into the 2024 season. His three-year contract with the Dodgers will be over by that point, so as it stands, he'll receive no more pay from the team. Until now, the longest such MLB suspension of a player who was not charged has been one full season, imposed against relief pitcher Sam Dyson in March 2021. Other players have been suspended for as few as 15 games. Bauer would be the first to appeal his punishment under the policy. (More Trevor Bauer stories.)

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