Mookie Betts Says Trevor Bauer Should Get Another Chance: ‘He’s A Great Guy’

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Pitcher Trevor Bauer’s fall from grace has been as dramatic as we’ve ever seen in professional sports and one former teammate, Mookie Betts, thinks he deserves another chance.

In the span of less than a year, the right-hander went from winning the National League Cy Young Award to signing a three-year, $102 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers to being completely out of Major League Baseball.

Bauer ended up missing 194 games for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy despite never actually being charged with a crime.

His suspension cost him $37.5 million, though he did end up making $22.5 million for what would have been the third year of his Dodgers contract when the team released him.

During his brief time with the Dodgers in 2021, Bauer went 8-5 with a 2.59 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP with 137 strikeouts in 107.2 innings pitched – his WHIP and strikeout total were leading Major League Baseball at the time of his forced administrative leave.

This week, Dodgers star Mookie Betts was at the World Series doing some work for Major League Baseball when he was asked about the possibility of some team signing Trevor Bauer for the 2024 season.

“It’s something to think about,” Betts told the Los Angeles Times.

“My experience with Bauer is not anything remotely close to what everyone else’s experience is,” Mookie continued. “I love him. I think he’s an awesome guy. The personal things? I have no control. I have no say. Obviously, nothing ever came from it.

“He’s an awesome pitcher. He’s a great guy, somebody who wants to take the mound every fifth day. But, at the end of the day, I don’t make the decision. That’s a decision that’s not as simple as baseball.”

Bauer, who will be 33 in January, played in 2023 for the the Yokohama DeNA BayStars on a one-year, incentive-laden $4 million contract. He ended up going 10-4 with a 2.76 ERA, striking out 130 in 130.2 innings.

He recently settled the lawsuit filed against by one of his accusers, but he still stands accused of at least one other assault by a woman in Arizona.