Dodgers' Friedman, Kasten 'feel good' about decision to release Bauer

Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and team president Stan Kasten said they're comfortable with their decision to release pitcher Trevor Bauer last month.

"Most of what we know came from the fact that the commissioner's office and the independent arbitrator reviewed all the aspects of the case and found him to be in violation, and to serve the longest suspension ever, under this policy," Friedman told reporters Wednesday, according to Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. "And as we went through that, that was enough for us. We feel good about our process and what led us to where we are now."

Bauer's 194-game suspension is the longest ever handed out under Major League Baseball's domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy. The league initially handed Bauer a 324-game ban that an independent arbitrator reduced in January. The Dodgers released him two weeks later.

After the team announced its decision, Bauer issued a statement saying the Dodgers "told me that they wanted me to return and pitch for the team this year." Kasten refused to divulge any specifics of that meeting Wednesday, only confirming that the team spoke with the right-hander before releasing him.

"I'm not gonna get into contradicting or agreeing with anything about what was supposed to be a private conversation," Kasten said. "I'll just say, within a very short time we came back and made our decision. I think that speaks for itself."

He added: "We had the time to check all our bases, get all the input you could get to make a decision, which we did. And that included hearing from Trevor, because we had not spoken to him since the beginning of this. ... I stand by our decision. I'm very comfortable with it."

Bauer, 32, hasn't pitched in the majors since June 2021. The Dodgers are still responsible for his $22.5-million salary in 2023 but will save the major-league minimum if he signs with another team.