An arbitrator Thursday reduced the two-season suspension of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer, resulting in the immediate return of the 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner.
Trevor Bauer is reinstated immediately as arbitrator reduces suspension
Bauer’s salary is estimated at $37.5 million, but the reduced suspension beats Sam Dyson’s 162-game suspension in 2021, ending seven years of MLB’s domestic violence policy. It remains the longest in history. Suspension by Policy.
Scheinman’s decision marks the end of the latest chapter in an 18-month-long legal battle for Bauer, much of which he has spent attacking his accusers, with mixed results for MLB. Bauer was suspended in April after three women accused him of sexual assault. After Bauer appealed, Scheinman investigated his MLB lawsuit against him in a confidential process that lasted months.
In a news release, MLB said, “While we believe a longer suspension was warranted, MLB has sought a neutral arbitrator to uphold the longest active player suspension in history for sexual assault or domestic violence. I will follow the decision,” he said. MLB declined to comment further, citing arbitration confidentiality.
A representative for Bauer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He denied committing sexual assault and accused the woman of coercion.In a tweet Thursday night, he said I have writtenwith some saying, “Can’t wait to see you soon at the stadium!”
Thursday’s decision shifts future responsibility for Bauer to the Dodgers, and MLB’s rules regarding players off the restricted list give the Dodgers two weeks, ending Jan. 6, to decide whether to put him on the roster or release him. The 2023 season was set to be the final season of Bauer’s three-year, $102 million deal with Los Angeles ahead of the 2021 season. He will be 32 in January.
in one tweet, the dodgers said“We have just been informed of the arbitrator’s ruling and will comment as soon as it becomes realistic.”
A spokeswoman for the MLB Players Association, which represented Bauer in the appeal of the suspension, declined to comment.
In 2021, a woman sought a restraining order against Bauer in a Los Angeles court, claiming that Bauer knocked her unconscious and hit her during sex. made a similar allegation against Bauer. He most recently made his league debut in June 2021.
The arbitration hearing was conducted confidentially by agreement between MLB and the Players Union. In an article published Thursday, The Washington Post detailed the proceedings as detailed as the trial, including about 20 witnesses and a body of evidence.
At least two of Bauer’s accusers testified against him at the hearing. One of the women, prior to her testimony, said that Bauer’s investigators had called her acquaintances to try to intimidate or embarrass her, threatening her sex and dating life. said he asked about Records reviewed by The Post show that Bauer’s penchant for legal retaliation against one of his accusers was a central concern during MLB’s investigation and arbitration hearing. I was.
Among the materials at issue in the arbitration hearing is a police recording of a telephone conversation between Bauer and one of the accusers. On the phone, Bauer appeared to admit to hitting a woman during sex.
Bauer has publicly denied attacking women. Bauer’s law enforcement investigation ended in February without charges, and prosecutors “have been unable to prove the relevant charges beyond reasonable doubt” after “thoroughly examining all available evidence.” I couldn’t do it,” he said.
A judge has dismissed the restraining order of the first accuser, a California woman. Bauer filed a lawsuit against her in April, days before MLB announced her two-year suspension, claiming she lured him into increasingly rough sex with her. Did. “Laying the groundwork for a financial settlement”
The woman denies any such conspiracy and seeks a sexual assault counterclaim. The Washington Post typically does not identify victims of sexual assault or domestic violence unless it asks for their names.
One of Bauer’s accusers who testified against Bauer at the hearing — a woman from Columbus, Ohio, said in a Washington Post article that he had repeatedly accused her without her consent during their years-long relationship. strangled, slapped, and anally inserted — said. On Thursday night, she expected his suspension to be reduced “somewhat.”
“So I’m not surprised,” she added. “I’m just happy that his suspension was upheld. He’s back sooner than I thought, but it sends a message that this kind of behavior is not good and that there are precedents. I hope, how this will be handled in the future.”