Trevor Bauer was reinstated Thursday by Major League Baseball’s impartial arbitrator, permitting the pitcher to renew his profession at first of the 2023 season.
The Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher was given an unprecedented two-season suspension with out pay by baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred on April 29 for violating the league’s home violence and sexual assault coverage after a San Diego girl mentioned Bauer beat and sexually abused her final yr, an accusation the pitcher denied.
The gamers’ affiliation filed a grievance on Bauer’s behalf, and a three-person panel headed by impartial arbitrator Martin Scheinman began listening to the case on May 23.
Major League Baseball mentioned Scheinman upheld a 194-game suspension however reinstated Bauer instantly. As a end result, Bauer will lose pay for the ultimate 144 video games of final season and for the primary 50 video games of subsequent season, via May 23 if there aren’t any postponements.
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The Dodgers should determine whether or not to retain Bauer. If they reduce him, they might be liable for the remaining wage he’s owed.
“While we believe a longer suspension was warranted, MLB will abide by the neutral arbitrator’s decision, which upholds baseball’s longest-ever active player suspension for sexual assault or domestic violence,” MLB mentioned in a press release. “We understand this process was difficult for the witnesses involved and we thank them for their participation.”
The 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner’s authentic suspension coated 324 video games with out pay and if left in place would have price him simply over $60 million from a $102 million, three-year contract that started final yr.
Bauer’s accuser sought however was denied a restraining order in opposition to him. Los Angeles prosecutors mentioned in February there was inadequate proof to show the girl’s accusations past an inexpensive doubt.
Bauer, who hasn’t performed because the allegations surfaced and MLB started investigating, repeatedly has mentioned that every part that occurred between him and the girl was consensual.
Bauer was positioned on administrative depart on July 2, 2021, beneath the home violence coverage, a depart prolonged 13 instances.
Among 15 gamers beforehand disciplined beneath the coverage, the longest suspension was a full season and postseason without spending a dime agent pitcher Sam Dyson in 2021. None of the gamers beforehand disciplined beneath the coverage seem to have challenged the penalty earlier than an arbitrator.
Bauer sued his accuser in federal court docket, a transfer that got here lower than three months after prosecutors determined to not file prison prices in opposition to the pitcher. Bauer named the girl and one among her attorneys, Niranjan Fred Thiagarajah, as defendants within the lawsuit. The Associated Press doesn’t sometimes determine individuals who say they’ve been victims of sexual assault.
The lawsuit mentioned that “the damage to Mr. Bauer has been extreme” after the girl alleged that he had choked her into unconsciousness, punched her repeatedly and had anal intercourse along with her with out her consent throughout two sexual encounters final yr.
The pitcher has mentioned the 2 engaged in tough intercourse at his Pasadena dwelling at her suggestion and adopted tips they agreed to upfront.
Bauer has mentioned in a previous assertion despatched via his representatives that he had a “casual and wholly consensual sexual relationship from 2013-2018” with the girl, which started when he was pitching for the Triple-A staff in Columbus.
“None of our meetings ever involved a single non-consensual, let alone illegal, act,” Bauer mentioned. “In fact, she is the one who introduced me to choking, both in our relationship and as a consensual act during sex. The incidents she detailed to the Washington Post — and specifically the one that involved non-consensual choking in which she claims to have convulsed and woken up on a hotel floor — absolutely never occurred, in any capacity.”
After profitable his first Cy Young with the Cincinnati Reds in 2020, Bauer agreed to affix his hometown Dodgers. He didn’t pitch after June 29 in 2021 and completed with an 8-2 report and a 2.59 ERA in 17 appearances. He was paid his $28 million wage final yr.