What does the Future hold for Trevor Bauer?
Trevor Bauer picks up 4-1 victory in debut with Yokohama – (Kyodo News Via AP)
With starting pitching at a premium this off season, Trevor Bauer quickly becomes a topic of conversation. The controversial starter has seen success in the Nippon Professional Baseball league (NPB) but hasn’t got much attention from MLB front offices.
Bauer sports an Earned Run Average (ERA+) of 116 across 212 career starts. He won the Cy Young award in 2020 with the Cincinnati Reds and signed to the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent for $102 million across three-years. In his 2021 campaign, Bauer tossed a 2.59 ERA and 137 strikeouts in just 17 games. Bauer pitched his last MLB game on Jun. 28, 2021, following heavy sexual assault allegations. Since then, his name has been cleared in court and MLB lifted their 324-game suspension.
Bauer is currently pitching for the Yokohama DeNA Baystars in the NPB, where he has posted a 2.76 ERA and 130 strikeouts over the span of 19 games and two of those starts were complete games. These numbers come after taking the previous season off. With the allegations being proven wrong and good on-field performance, why hasn’t Bauer signed with an MLB team?
Bauer is an above replacement level pitcher that many teams, such as the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros, could use in their pursuit of a championship. However, off the field issues are pushing teams away from the PR disaster that is Trevor Bauer.
In the seasons leading up to his allegations, Bauer vlogged his day-to-day activities. He brought the camera out on the field, into the bullpen and even the club house. Teammates believed this was an invasion of privacy and weakened the chemistry of the team. In addition to that, Bauer has luggage that follows him around. Not to get into details, the allegations were that the sexual encounter was not consensual, however that was proven false in court. The actions that took place that night are in fact true and that has forced MLB front offices and players to question his character and merits.
As Bauer moves forward in his career in the NPB, he must continue building back his name and re-establish his good character to play in the MLB again. Although, anything is possible. Especially with the high ceiling in the pitching market today. Bauer could get in with a team like the Atlanta Braves for $5 million-$7 million on a one-year deal. If father time doesn’t catch up with Bauer he will, at some point, make a return to the MLB.
