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It appears that Trevor Bauer‘s return to Major League Baseball could be a matter of “when” not “if.”
Bauer won the National League Cy Young Award in 2020 with the Cincinnati Reds in 2020 before joining the Los Angeles Dodgers in free agency.
But a sexual assault case and subsequent MLB suspension derailed his once-promising career.
Bauer was never criminally charge. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office declined to proceed after an investigation into the first woman’s allegations.
“After a thorough review of the available evidence, including the civil restraining order proceedings, witness statements and the physical evidence, the People are unable to prove the relevant charges beyond a reasonable doubt,” prosecutors said at the time.
The one-time ace then signed to pitch in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league and eventually settled a civil case with his accused. Though many still wondered if his days playing in the US were over.
Those questions only got louder as he struggled early in his career with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.
Eventually, however, he figured things out. Bauer posted a 2.76 ERA through 130 2/3 innings while striking out 24.3% of opposing hitters.
His one-year deal now finished, Bauer is now a free agent and Jon Heyman reports that he could well return to Major League Baseball in 2024.
Trevor Bauer’s agents Jon Fetterolf and Rachel Luba are meeting with teams in hopes of finding Bauer a job back in MLB. Bauer went 10-4 with a 2.76 ERA for Yokohama, including 9-2 with a 1.97 ERA over his last 15 starts. His fastball ticked up 1 mph on average, hitting a 99.3 max
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 9, 2023
Bauer’s agents are reportedly meeting with teams to gauge interest.
Whether or not that interest turns into concrete offers remains to be scene.
On the field, the upside is obvious. Bauer will be 33 years old in January, but has had a light workload in recent years. At his best, he’s a top of the rotation type pitcher for any team.
It’s off the field where he becomes a concern.
Bauer’s sexual assault allegations are far from his first off-field issues and he’s had issues in multiple clubhouses.
Whether a team determines his talent to be worth the headache that comes with it will likely be pivotal to his chances of returning to the MLB.