The Big Lead

Why hasn't Trevor Bauer returned to MLB? Twins catcher offers one theory

By J.P. Hoornstra

Jul 1, 2021; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Trevor Bauer (R) talks with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (L) in the dugout against the Washington Nationals in the third inning at Nationals Park.
Jul 1, 2021; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Trevor Bauer (R) talks with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (L) in the dugout against the Washington Nationals in the third inning at Nationals Park. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
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On April 29, 2022, Trevor Bauer was suspended for 324 games without pay — equivalent to two seasons — for a violation of the league's Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. It was the longest non-lifetime suspension issued in MLB history.

Bauer appealed his suspension and eventually had it reduced to 194 games, which is still the longest since MLB adopted a domestic violence policy in Aug. 2015. A couple weeks after his suspension was reduced, the Dodgers designated Bauer for assignment. He hasn't appeared in a Major League Baseball game since.

The career of the 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner might be more easily forgotten if not for his social media presence. Bauer's YouTube channel boasts nearly 1 million followers, making him among the most visible baseball players on the planet. In January, Bauer signed with the Yokohama DeNA Baystars of Nippon Professional Baseball, the top league in Japan.

Bauer became an unexpected topic of conversation Thursday on The Power Trip morning show on KFAN (100.3-FM) in Minneapolis. During a guest appearance by Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers, host Ben Leber said that his 13-year-old son is "infatuated" with Bauer's YouTube videos.

"We love watching his videos, whether he's demoing something or mic'd up actually in the Mexican League," Leber said. "How much of that is performative, and how much of that is the real mindset and the approach of these pitchers?"

Jeffers' response was blunt: "Did you explain to your 13-year-old what Trevor Bauer is accused of?"

To recap: A San Diego woman accused Bauer of sexual assault in 2021, which prompted the MLB investigation and effectively ended his career with the Dodgers three months after it began. Bauer accused the same woman of defamation in April 2022, and she countersued for sexual battery four months later. She and Bauer ultimately settled their respective civil lawsuits outside of court, with no money exchanged between the two parties.

The Washington Post reported on two other women from Ohio who levied sexual assault allegations against Bauer, which the pitcher denied. He was never prosecuted.

Leber told Jeffers "em ... no."

"That might put a different light on some of his videos," Jeffers said.

"I'm trying to keep this as, it's just about the baseball," Leber said.

"It's great what he's doing for the youth side of things," Jeffers said. "In today's environment there's a great value for young players in that YouTube, that streamer, in that type of environment. People can make a lot of money, get a lot views, put a lot of eyes on them."

"But I think it's different when you try to put that dynamic in a big league clubhouse. There's a lot that can go sideways when there's that type of character in the clubhouse. Put aside all of the legal stuff that went on. At the end of the day I don't think players are up in arms and super worried. ... But I think there's more worry about just the environment, the cloud that comes around him with drama — it's all online, everything's public — I don't know if that's great for a big league clubhouse."

It's rare, though not unheard of, for an active major league player to talk about Bauer on the record since he last pitched in MLB. That's led many, including Bauer himself, to speculate on why he's been exiled.

“If associating with the wrong people and being accused of stuff that you didn’t do means that I can’t go back to playing Major League Baseball," he told the Los Angeles Times in 2024, "if making a couple mistakes along the way on social media and in how I responded to people means I can’t go play Major League Baseball, that’s not for me to decide. It’s for the owners to decide. I hope that’s not the case.”

Jeffers' remarks suggest that, if it were up to players to decide, Bauer wouldn't necessarily be a shoo-in with every major league clubhouse either.

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