AP

Trevor Bauer reinstated by MLB’s independent arbitrator

Dec 22, 2022, 2:55 AM | Updated: 7:23 pm

FILE - Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Trevor Bauer pauses while working against the San Franc...

FILE - Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Trevor Bauer pauses while working against the San Francisco Giants during the fourth inning of a baseball game May 21, 2021, in San Francisco. Bauer was reinstated Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, by Major League Baseball's independent arbitrator, allowing the pitcher to resume his career at the start of the 2023 season. (AP Photo/D. Ross Cameron, File)

(AP Photo/D. Ross Cameron, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Trevor Bauer was reinstated Thursday by Major League Baseball’s independent arbitrator, allowing the pitcher to resume his career at the start of the 2023 season.

The 31-year-old Los Angeles Dodgers star was given an unprecedented two-season suspension without pay by baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred on April 29 for violating the league’s domestic violence and sexual assault policy after a San Diego woman said Bauer beat and sexually abused her last year, an accusation the pitcher denied.

The players’ association filed a grievance on behalf of the former Cy Young Award winner, and a three-person panel headed by independent arbitrator Martin Scheinman started hearing the case on May 23.

Scheinman upheld a 194-game suspension rather than Manfred’s intended 324-game penalty but reinstated Bauer immediately, assigning 50 games to cover part of the lengthy time Bauer was put on administrative leave while MLB investigated during the 2021 season and early this year.

“Can’t wait to see y’all out at a stadium soon!” Bauer wrote on Twitter.

Bauer will lose more than $37 million in salary for the final 144 games of last season and for the first 50 games of next season, through May 23. The lost salary next year is effectively a clawback from part of his administrative leave, when he continued to receive pay.

MLB said Scheinman affirmed that Bauer violated the domestic violence policy.

“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 said in a statement. “We understand this process was difficult for the witnesses involved and we thank them for their participation.”

While Scheinman issued his award to the parties, a full written decision is not expected until later. The panel included MLB Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem and union assistant general counsel Bob Lenaghan.

“While we are pleased that Mr. Bauer has been reinstated immediately, we disagree that any discipline should have been imposed,” Bauer’s representatives, 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.”

The players’ association declined comment on Scheinman’s decision.

Bauer was never charged with a crime. His accuser sought but was denied a restraining order against him, and Los Angeles prosecutors said in February there was insufficient evidence to prove the woman’s accusations beyond a reasonable doubt.

Bauer, who hasn’t played since the allegations surfaced and MLB began investigating, repeatedly has said that everything that happened between him and the woman was consensual.

An email sent after business hours Thursday seeking comment from the woman’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, wasn’t immediately returned.

Bauer sued his accuser in federal court, a move that came less than three months after prosecutors decided not to file criminal charges against the pitcher. Bauer named the woman and one of her attorneys, Niranjan Fred Thiagarajah, as defendants in the lawsuit. The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they have been victims of sexual assault.

The lawsuit said that “the damage to Mr. Bauer has been extreme” after the woman alleged that he had choked her into unconsciousness, punched her repeatedly and had anal sex with her without her consent during two sexual encounters last year.

The pitcher has said the two engaged in rough sex at his Pasadena home at her suggestion and followed guidelines they agreed to in advance.

Another woman, from Columbus, Ohio, told The Washington Post that Bauer repeatedly choked her without her consent and sexually assaulted her over the course of a years-long relationship. Bauer, in a statement through his representatives, said their relationship was “casual and wholly consensual.”

The suspension will cost Bauer $37,594,233 from his $102 million, three-year contract: $28,131,868 of his $32 million salary in 2022 and $9,462,365 of his $32 million salary in 2023.

Under Major League Rule 2, Bauer will not count against the Dodgers’ player limits for 14 days, giving the team until Jan. 6 to decide whether to cut ties. If the Dodgers jettison Bauer, they would remain responsible for the roughly $22.6 million he is owed next season and he would be free to sign with any club.

“We have just been informed of the arbitrator’s ruling and will comment as soon as practical,” the Dodgers said in a statement.

The money not paid to Bauer will be reflected on the Dodgers’ luxury tax payroll, cutting the amount of tax they must pay this year and are projected to pay in 2023.

After winning his first Cy Young with the Cincinnati Reds in 2020, Bauer agreed to join his hometown Dodgers. He did not pitch after June 29 in 2021 and finished with an 8-2 record and a 2.59 ERA in 17 appearances.

Bauer was placed on administrative leave on July 2, 2021, under the domestic violence policy, a leave extended 13 times.

Among 15 players previously disciplined under the policy, the longest suspension was a full season and postseason for free agent pitcher Sam Dyson in 2021. None of the players previously disciplined under the policy appear to have challenged the penalty before an arbitrator.

Bauer’s suspension was the longest of any MLB player since pitcher Jenrry Mejia was given a lifetime ban in 2016 for a third violation of the drug agreement. Mejia was reinstated for 2019 and returned in the minor leagues.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Associated Press

Ex-Packer Guion gets 1 year for domestic violence assault

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Former Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Letroy Guion was sentenced to one year in jail after pleading no contest in a domestic violence assault at his home last fall. Brown County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Walsh also ordered Guion on Tuesday to serve three years’ probation and complete a domestic […]

1 year ago

Joe Jarzynka...

Associated Press

Durant eager for Suns debut vs. Hornets after knee injury

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kevin Durant has been through quite a bit during his 15-year NBA career — but joining a new team midway through the season is a new one for the 13-time All-Star. The 34-year-old Durant doesn’t seem all that worried. Durant makes his highly anticipated Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday night against […]

1 year ago

FILE - Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores stands on the sideline during the second half of an N...

Associated Press

Judge: NFL coach can press discrimination claims in court

NEW YORK (AP) — NFL Coach Brian Flores can pursue some of his discrimination claims against the league and its teams in court rather than through arbitration, a judge ruled Wednesday. The written decision by Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan was issued months after lawyers for the league tried to get the lawsuit moved to […]

1 year ago

Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Alex Stalock cools off in the first period during an NHL hockey game ...

Associated Press

Kane trade reinforces hard reality of Blackhawks rebuild

CHICAGO (AP) — After days of speculation, the harsh reality of the Chicago Blackhawks’ situation was reinforced by one move in a flurry of transactions ahead of the NHL trade deadline. Showtime is over, at least in Chicago, and a seemingly bright future is, well, way off in the distance. The reverberations of Chicago’s decision […]

1 year ago

FILE -  Yves Jean-Bart, president of the Haitian Football Federation, wearing a protective face mas...

Associated Press

Disgraced ex-Haitian soccer president announces he’s back

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s former soccer federation president whose lifetime ban from sport over sexual abuse allegations was overturned last month announced Wednesday that he is reclaiming his position. Yves Jean-Bart’s defiant announcement could lead to a standoff with FIFA, which already has appointed an emergency management committee to lead the Haitian Football Association […]

1 year ago

FILE - Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers walks off the field after an NFL football game against the ...

Associated Press

Rodgers says decision on future will come ‘soon enough’

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers says he will make a decision on his future “soon enough” as the four-time MVP quarterback ponders whether to play next season and if his future remains with the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers, 39, discussed his future while speaking on an episode of the “Aubrey Marcus Podcast” that […]

1 year ago

Trevor Bauer reinstated by MLB’s independent arbitrator