Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer has been out of the major leagues for three years.
In 2021, sexual assault allegations emerged against the 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner.
MLB initially placed Bauer on administrative leave but ultimately suspended him for 324 games.
The suspension was later reduced to 194 games upon appeal.
MLB determined that Bauer violated the league’s joint policies on domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse.
The league argued that an independent arbitrator found that Bauer violated its domestic violence policy.
“While we believe a longer suspension is warranted, MLB will abide by the decision of the neutral arbitrator, which will be the longest suspension of an active player in baseball history for sexual assault or domestic violence,” MLB said in a statement in 2022. “We understand this process has been difficult for the witnesses involved and we thank them for participating.”
Despite his return, the former All-Star pitcher recently suggested that MLB would ultimately decide whether he would sign with another team.
“One team said this is not their decision, it’s MLB’s,” Bauer wrote to X during an exchange with a Cincinnati Reds fan.
Bauer also claimed that one club had expressed concerns about the costs involved in signing him.
“One team told me I was ‘too expensive’ even though I offered to play for minimum pay. Another team told us we’d covered up some things in the past that we didn’t want the media to find out…” he wrote.
In a statement obtained by Mail Sports, an MLB spokesman said Bauer would be eligible to sign with any of the league’s 30 teams.
“Trevor Bauer has completed his duties and is an unrestricted free agent eligible to sign with any team,” the statement read.
Bauer initially expressed excitement at the possibility of returning to the major leagues after learning an independent arbitrator had reinstated him.
“I can’t wait to see you all at the stadium soon!” Bauer wrote to X in December 2022. At the time, the ruling allowed Bauer to resume his career by the start of the 2023 season.
“While we are pleased that Bauer was immediately reinstated, we do not agree that any disciplinary action should have been taken,” Bauer’s agents, John Fetterlof, Shawn Hawley and Rachel Louba, said in a statement in December 2022. “That said, Bauer looks forward to returning to the field and his goal remains to help the team win a World Series.”
Bauer was not charged with any crime; his accuser sought a restraining order against him but was denied, and the Los Angeles prosecutor’s office announced in February 2022 that there was insufficient evidence to prove the woman’s accusations beyond a reasonable doubt.
Bauer filed the complaint in federal court in April 2022, less than three months after prosecutors decided not to pursue criminal charges against him.
Another woman, from Columbus, Ohio, told The Washington Post that she was choked and sexually assaulted without her consent during her longtime relationship with Bauer.
Bauer released a statement through his representative saying the relationship was “casual and completely consensual.”
Bauer ultimately spent the 2023 season in Japan’s Nippon Baseball League. He joined the Diablos Rojos del Mexico baseball team in March.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
