Facing Deadline, Dodgers Cut Ties With Trevor Bauer

Even with the reduction, Bauer’s suspension is the longest of its kind in M.L.B. history, and in the end it will have cost Bauer $37.5 million of salary, which is the steepest penalty the league has levied.

Throughout the process, Bauer has been active on social media, denying the allegations and sharing pitching tips. When the reduction of his suspension was announced last month, his lawyers issued a statement saying they “disagree that any discipline should have been imposed,” and he tweeted about doing a video log of the upcoming season and said, “Can’t wait to see y’all out at a stadium soon!”

For the Dodgers, bringing Bauer back was most likely not worth the negative attention the move would receive, even with the large amount of money the team is still required to pay him. Los Angeles won an M.L.B.-best 111 games in 2022, and while the team lost the starters Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney to free agency, they added the right-hander Noah Syndergaard as a free agent to a talented rotation that also includes Clayton Kershaw, Julio Urías (who served his own 20-game suspension for a domestic violence incident in 2019) and Tony Gonsolin.

Bauer, who won the National League’s Cy Young Award as a member of the Cincinnati Reds in the season before the sexual assault allegations were reported, will most likely end up free to sign with another team for the major league minimum salary of $720,000. If that were to happen, the Dodgers would be able to reduce that amount from the $22.5 million that they owe the pitcher.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/06/sports/baseball/trevor-bauer-dodgers-released.html