The Big Lead

Trevor Bauer announces his new baseball team for 2025

By Joe Lago

Jun 9, 2021; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer (27) records himself before warming up before the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Jun 9, 2021; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer (27) records himself before warming up before the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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Trevor Bauer will be pitching again this year. It just won't be in the major leagues again.

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The 34-year-old right-hander will return to Japan and rejoin the Yokohama Bay Stars of Nippon Professional Baseball, the team announced on Monday.

Bauer, who last played in MLB with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2021, pitched for the Bay Stars in 2023, when he recorded an 11-4 record and 2.59 ERA in 24 starts. Last year, he played for Diablos Rojos del Mexico in the Mexican League, where he went 10-0 with a 2.48 ERA.

"I'm so excited to announce that I will play for the Bay Stars again this season," Bauer said in a video posted on the Bay Stars' X account.

Bauer said he appreciated the "support" he got from the community in Yokohama. "Everyone was so accommodating and so welcoming, and I can't wait to experience that again. It's going to be a blast," he added.

Bauer also said he is "in great shape ... the best I've ever been as a pitcher." His goal, in addition to bringing a championship to the Bay Stars, is to win the Eiji Sawamura Award as NPB's best pitcher.

"It would mean the world to me to win the Sawamura Award and the Cy Young Award in my career," he said. "It would be the greatest honor in my baseball career."

After winning National League Cy Young honors with the Cincinnati Reds in 2020, Bauer signed a three-year, $102 million contract with the Dodgers. He made only 17 starts in 2021 after MLB placed him on administrative leave due to sexual assault allegations.

Bauer denied any wrongdoing, and the L.A. County District Attorney's office chose not to press charges. MLB suspended him for two seasons for violating the MLB-MLBPA Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.

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