Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer is seeking a return to Major League Baseball despite interest from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.
Bauer’s agents are meeting with MLB teams at the winter meetings, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, who added that Japan’s Yokohama Bay Stars want to retain the veteran’s services in 2024.
Bauer has not played in MLB since June 2021 after being accused of sexually assaulting a San Diego woman earlier that year.
The 32-year-old was placed on administrative leave in July 2021 and MLB handed down a 324-game suspension to the right-hander in April 2022. An independent arbitrator reduced his suspension to 194 games under the league’s domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy in December 2022 and ruled that he be reinstated.
Bauer sued the woman for defamation in April 2022, and she countersued him for sexual battery. They settled their civil lawsuits against each other outside of court in October and no money was exchanged.
Bauer was also accused of sexual assault by three other women.
Bauer was released by the Dodgers in January and he spent the 2023 season playing for Yokohama. He went 11-4 with a 2.59 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 160 strikeouts in 156.2 innings across 24 games with the Bay Stars.
Bauer was considered one of the top pitchers in MLB prior to his release by the Dodgers.
The California native won the NL Cy Young Award and ERA title as a member of the Cincinnati Reds during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign after posting a 5-4 record with a 1.73 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 100 strikeouts in 73 innings across 11 starts.
Bauer, who has also played for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Cleveland Guardians, has a 3.79 career ERA in MLB.
It’s unclear which teams might be interested in signing Bauer ahead of the 2024 season.
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