Last Updated on December 26, 2022
Dodgers pitcher and former MLB Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer has been reinstated after his 324-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s joint domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy was cut to 194 games. Bauer was suspended last season over allegations that he choked a woman unconscious during sex that resulted in a fractured skull, according to a report from Molly Knight of the Athletic. Bauer has vehemently denied the allegations and provided text messages that demonstrate a consensual relationship, according to his lawyers. He was never charged in the case, though the MLB opted to suspend him under its policy.
The pitcher, 31, has not appeared in game since June 2021, shortly after the allegations were levied against him. MLB later issued the two-year suspension this past April.
Bauer was ultimately reinstated this week by arbitrator Martin F. Scheinman and will receive docked pay for the first 50 games of the 2023 season, according to ESPN.
The All-Star pitcher’s legal team soon issued a statement saying that the punishment never should have been issued in the first place. “While we are pleased that Mr. Bauer has been reinstated immediately, we disagree that any discipline should have been imposed,” Bauer’s attorneys Jon Fetterolf, Shawn Holley and Rachel Luba said in a statement. That said, Mr. Bauer looks forward to his return to the field, where his goal remains to help his team win a World Series.”
Last year, Molly Knight of The Athletic published a story in which Trevor Bauer was accused of choking a woman unconscious during sex and fracturing her skull. The MLB subsequently placed Bauer on leave while the accusations levied by the woman, known only in court documents as “Ms. Hill”, were investigated.
She accused Bauer of fracturing her skull, choking her unconscious during sex and other violent sexual behaviors. Bauer has denied assaulting the woman, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office ultimately declined to press charges.
“I never assaulted her in any way at any time,” Bauer said in a video statement at the time. “While we did have consensual rough sex, the disturbing acts and conduct that she described simply did not occur.”
Shortly after the allegations were brought forward, Bauer’s camp revealed text messages that showed the two stayed in contact after the alleged sexual assault. The accuser even requested more “rough” sex from Bauer after the first encounter. The Dodgers star also revealed other, general conversation messages that would seem strange given the alleged circumstances.
Bauer’s previous accuser previously obtained a protective order against Bauer under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, her attorney, Marc Garelick, said in 2021. In a statement provided to PEOPLE, Garelick claimed the woman “suffered severe physical and emotional pain” as a result of the alleged assault.
Trevor Bauer has been reinstated by MLB, effective immediately after his suspension was reduced to 194 games. pic.twitter.com/Ni6YGDq6Bg
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) December 23, 2022
The Los Angeles Dodgers will now have until January 6 to decide what to do with Trevor Bauer when he is officially reinstated. “We have just been informed of the arbitrator’s ruling and will comment as soon as practical,” the Dodgers wrote in a Twitter statement on Thursday.
Major League Baseball also released a statement in which they expressed disagreement with the arbitrator’s decision, though they intend to honor it. “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 wrote in a statement.
“We understand this process was difficult for the witnesses involved and we thank them for their participation,” the league continued. “Due to the collectively bargained confidentiality provisions of the joint program, we are unable to provide further details at this time.”
