MLB suspends Trevor Bauer for 2 years after investigating assault claims
Warning: Story contains graphic content
Major League Baseball suspended Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Trevor Bauer for two years for violating the league's joint domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy, the league announced Friday.
The 324-game suspension is effective Friday, April 29, and is the longest ban in the history of the policy's existence. MLB will not give Bauer credit for time served on the administrative list, meaning he won't be eligible to return until late April 2024, according to The Athletic's Britt Ghiroli.
Bauer announced his plan to appeal the decision and denied breaking any of the league's rules:
In the strongest possible terms, I deny committing any violation of the league’s domestic violence & sexual assault policy. I am appealing this action and expect to prevail. As we have throughout this process, my representatives & I respect the confidentiality of the proceedings.
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) April 29, 2022
The Dodgers also released a statement, expressing their support of "the commissioner's enforcement of the policy."
Bauer was the focus of a Pasadena Police Department investigation after a woman accused him of sexual assault in May 2021. MLB placed Bauer on the administrative list on July 2 and he hasn't made an appearance since. In August, a judge denied a domestic violence restraining order against Bauer filed by a woman who said he sexually assaulted her.
The Pasadena Police Department turned over the findings of its investigation to the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office in August 2021, which reviewed the case and announced in February 2022 that it wouldn't pursue criminal charges.
On Friday, The Washington Post published an exclusive account of another woman who said Bauer choked her without her consent during sex. The woman detailed incidents in 2013 and 2014, and Bauer acknowledged a five-year relationship with her.
The Associated Press has more details:
The Washington Post published a story Friday in which a woman from Columbus, Ohio, said Bauer crossed the line during sex in 2013 and 2014. The woman, who was not identified, said the sex was consensual but that “things happened outside of my consent” during intercourse, the Post reported.
The woman said Bauer choked her unconscious dozens of times during sex. Once, after she regained consciousness, she said Bauer was having anal sex without her consent.
Bauer said in a statement sent through his representatives that he had a “casual and wholly consensual sexual relationship from 2013-2018” with the woman, which began when he was pitching for the Triple-A team in Columbus.
Bauer, 31, signed a three-year, $102-million contract with the Dodgers before the 2021 season. MLB conducted its own months-long investigation into the allegations, and if the suspension is upheld in full, Bauer will no longer be under contract with L.A. when it's over.