After not pitching in MLB since July 2021, pitcher Trevor Bauer will be going to Japan to continue his playing career.
The controversial 32-year-old former Cy Young winner will play for the Yokohama DeNa BayStars in 2023.
The deal is worth $4 million for one year and contains more in the way of incentives.
トレバー・ #バウアー 投手がDeNAベイスターズと1年4億円で契約に基本合意。
News: Trever #Bauer will sign with the #DeNA #Baystars in Japan professional league. The deal is $4M + incentives / 1 year, pending physical. Sources confirmed it to Sankei Sports.
— 山田結軌⚾️ｻﾝｽﾎﾟMLB記者🇺🇸野球大好き😍 (@YamadaSANSPO) March 13, 2023
The reason why Bauer was away from the diamond for the last season-and-a-half was because he was involved in sexual assault allegations that earned him a 324-game suspension.
It was later reduced to 194 through appeal and Bauer is technically ready to pitch in the majors, but no teams wanted anything to do with him.
The PR hit and Bauer’s antics are just not worth the potential trouble.
Fans, of course, reacted to the Bauer news in a myriad of creative ways.
Trevor Bauer talking to MLB teams pic.twitter.com/EvKvHF03dC
— Katie MAX WDC 🏳️⚧️🦋 (@Swiftie89MV33) March 13, 2023
Some see it as a deserved backwards step in the player’s career and poked fun at him:
TREVOR BAUER IS GOING TO JAPAN HAHAHAAHA
— Matt ⚾️ (@LindorsBurner) March 13, 2023
Trevor Bauer officially out of the MLB. pic.twitter.com/iEdZf99HdQ
— ElPoor (@DaveyBaseCard) March 13, 2023
The allegations against Bauer were serious enough for the league to suspend him for 324 games even in the absence of a criminal conviction or indictment.
They were also serious enough for the vast majority of MLB teams to not even entertain the possibility of signing him.
This is a guy who earned more than $30 million per season in his contract with the Dodgers, and now will make $4 million on base salary.
This is a shocking fall for one of the game’s best pitchers as recently as 2021.
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