Trevor Bauer says several playoff contenders wanted to sign him but were told they could not. The 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner has not pitched in the majors since 2021, when sexual assault allegations surfaced months after he signed a record-setting contract based on a pitcher’s average annual value.
“We’ve talked to every team and all the baseball people, all the front office people, the GMs, the coaches, the players,” Bauer said in an interview with the Dominican YouTube channel Rompiendo Sports. “They’re all, ‘Yeah, we want you. We’d sign you in a heartbeat, but we’re not allowed to.’”
He said that, in some cases, team executives supported signing him until the decision reached an owner. Bauer recalled being told that the owner had rejected the idea and instructed staff not to raise it again.
Bauer also claimed that people with playoff teams had urged their clubs to bring him in, only to be warned they could lose their jobs if they kept pushing. He said he had heard similar accounts from people at eight to 10 organizations.
He has repeatedly suggested that teams are keeping him out of the league. Bauer acknowledged that past controversies, including accusations of using sticky substances and cheating, had brought him negative attention. He said coverage of the allegations against him had also made teams wary, despite his insistence that the claims were false.
“They don’t have to let me back, because they can hide behind, ‘If an organization signs me, it would just be too much negative media pressure,’” Bauer said. “There’s nothing I can do about it.”
Bauer played independent baseball and in Mexico during the 2026 season. He is now playing in the Dominican Republic.
On June 28, 2021, Bauer earned a win after allowing two runs over six innings and striking out eight. Two days later, allegations of sexual assault were made against him. MLB later suspended him for violating its Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. The original 324-game suspension was reduced to 184 games.
Nearly two years ago, Bauer said he might sue Major League Baseball if he continued to be kept out of the league. He has also said he would play in the majors for free.
Bauer has maintained his innocence. He and Lindsey Hill, who accused him of beating and sexually abusing her in 2021, settled their case in late 2023. Bauer later shared text messages he said were from Hill, including one in which she called him her “next victim.” Hill has since said MLB has additional evidence of alleged misconduct.
A separate woman who accused Bauer has been charged with fraud over allegations that she fabricated a pregnancy and sought money from him for an abortion. Bauer was pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers and had a 2.59 ERA when the allegations emerged.
