LOS ANGELES –
The Los Angeles Dodgers are severing ties with pitcher Trevor Bauer, who received an unprecedented 324-game suspension because of sexual misconduct allegations that were dropped two weeks ago, allowing he continued his career at the start of the new season.
A person familiar with the situation said Friday the 31-year-old right-hander has been assigned the assignment, which means the Dodgers have seven days to make an unlikely trade or just drop. he. This person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team has not announced a roster change.
If the winner of the 2020 NL Cy Young Award is announced, Los Angeles will remain responsible for the more than $22.5 million remaining in Bauer’s contract.
“After careful consideration, we have decided that he will no longer be part of our organization,” the Dodgers said in a statement posted on Twitter.
Bauer said in a statement, “After two weeks of conversations surrounding my return to the organization, I sat down with Dodgers leadership in Arizona yesterday, who told me they wanted me back and play for the team this year.
“Although I am disappointed by the organization’s decision today, I appreciate the rich support I have received from the Dodgers club. I wish the players all the best and look forward to seeing them. play elsewhere.”
The Dodgers have until Friday to reinstate Bauer to the baseball roster, and they didn’t announce their decision until late afternoon. The group has rarely commented on the divisive case since Bauer was given paid administrative leave in July 2021.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred suspended Bauer 324 games for violating the league’s domestic violence and sexual assault policy after a San Diego woman said he beat and sexually abused her on the day of her death. 2021. Bauer insists he did nothing wrong, saying that everything that happened between him and the woman agreed.
Bauer was never charged.
The Players Association filed the complaint on Bauer’s behalf, and a three-man panel led by independent referee Martin Scheinman began hearing the case last May.
In his ruling on December 22, Scheinman upheld the 194-match suspension instead of the 324-match penalty as intended by Manfred and reinstated Bauer immediately. Scheinman asserts that Bauer violated MLB policy and cut his pay for the first 50 games of 2023, including part of the time the pitcher was given paid leave in 2021 and `22.
“The Dodgers Foundation believes that allegations of sexual assault or domestic violence should be thoroughly investigated, with due process for the defendant,” the group’s statement said.
The team said it fully cooperates with the MLB investigation and strictly adheres to the rules under the league’s domestic violence and sexual assault policy.
“Two extensive reviews of all the evidence available in this case – one by Commissioner Manfred and the other by a neutral referee – have concluded that Mr Bauer’s actions warrant the suspension of the active player. longest in our sport for violating this policy,” Dodgers said.
Bauer joins his hometown Dodgers ahead of the 2021 season on a three-year, $102 million deal. He had an 8-5 record and a 2.59 ERA in 17 games before being retiring.
In the event that Bauer is likely to be released, the MLB players’ association may object to his release for non-compliance with the Uniform Player Contract.
The contract allows the team to terminate if the player “fails, refuses or neglects to conform his personal conduct to the standards of good citizenship and good sportsmanship or to keep himself in good condition”. first-class physical fitness or compliance with the club’s training rules” or “in the opinion of club management, have not demonstrated sufficient skill or competitiveness to qualify or continue a member of the club team.”
In February 2022, Los Angeles prosecutors decided not to charge Bauer for allegedly beating and sexually abusing a San Diego woman because they said they could not prove her charges. beyond reasonable doubt.
The woman, then 27, said Bauer strangled her until she lost consciousness, punched her repeatedly and sexually assaulted her during two sex sessions.
The Associated Press often does not identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault.
Bauer said in a video posted on YouTube following the prosecutor’s decision that he and the woman engaged in rough sex at her suggestion and followed instructions they agreed to in advance. Each encounter ended with her spending the night at his home in Pasadena, he said.
“The disturbing behaviors and behaviors she describes simply don’t happen,” he said at the time.
The woman sought an injunction, but a judge denied it. The judge found that Bauer respected the woman’s boundaries when the woman set them and was unable to know about the boundaries he violated because she did not express them clearly.
Bauer will lose about $37.6 million in wages for the last 144 games of last season and the first 50 games of this season, through May 23.
If Bauer is released, another team could sign him for a minimum of $720,000 for the major tournament, with the Dodgers responsible for the remainder of the $22,537,635 that he won. he owes.
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AP baseball writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.
