Trevor Bauer will pass through the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Glendale, Arizona, facility on his way back to the major leagues.
Since June 2021, when he was pitching for the Dodgers, Bauer has not participated in major league baseball. He was accused of sexual assault by a woman in Southern California, who led MLB to suspend him and send him on administrative leave.
The prosecution chose not to press charges against him.
Bauer, who is 33 years old, pitched for the DeNA BayStars Japan team the previous year and is hoping to get back into the main leagues. He’s declared his intention to play for the league minimum.
In the meanwhile, Bauer joined Asian Breeze, a Japanese team that plays against minor league teams in an attempt to get scouts to take an interest in its players.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Asian Breeze bills its own players roughly $2,600 for a 20-day tour of the United States.
The organization released a statement on Thursday stating, “Asian Breeze is extremely excited to announce that Trevor Bauer will be making his Asian Breeze debut on March 10th against the Los Angeles Dodgers Organization.”
While Bauer’s previous team plays the Arizona Diamondbacks in a spring training game on the main field, Asian Breeze players will be visiting the Dodgers’ Camelback Ranch complex on a back field.
This spring, which is also Shohei Ohtani’s debut season with the team, some of the back fields of the Dodgers complex have not been open to the media.
Prior to the 2021 season, Bauer signed a three-year, $102 million contract with Los Angeles.
In 17 starts for the Dodgers in 2021, Bauer finished 8-5 with a 2.59 ERA. With 222 games (212 starts) and a 3.79 ERA, the 2020 National League Cy Young winner is 83-69 with Los Angeles, Arizona, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Toronto.
In April 2022, Bauer received a record 324 games of suspension from MLB for breaking the league’s domestic abuse policy. In December 2022, a neutral arbiter shortened his suspension to 194 games. He was later released by the Dodgers in January 2023.
During the pitcher’s lone season with the Dodgers, Bauer and the woman both claimed to have had sex twice. According to Bauer, everything was done voluntarily and he didn’t do anything against the woman’s wishes.
In the summer of 2021, a Los Angeles judge rejected the woman’s plea for a restraining order, and the district attorney’s office subsequently decided not to file charges.
Bauer pitched for the BayStars last season, going 10-4 with a 2.76 ERA.
In an interview with the Times last month, he said he should be given another chance in the major leagues.
“I don’t believe,” he stated, “that I was given a lifetime ban.”
“I have served my time,” he continued. Do I not deserve the chance to return?”
