Trevor Bauer, who was released by the Los Angeles Dodgers in January, has agreed to a one-year contract with Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball League’s Yokohama DeNA BayStars. The contract, originally reported by Yuki Yamada of Sankei Sportspays Bauer $3 million (400 million Japanese yen) plus incentives. ESPN’s Jeff Passan has since confirmed the agreement.
Bauer, 31, has not competed in a Major League Baseball competition since June 28, 2021. He was subsequently placed on the blacklist while the league office and Pasadena Police Department investigated an allegation that he assaulted a woman. The Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli and Katie Strang opened up about the woman’s allegations against Bauer. “I agreed to have consensual sex, but I didn’t consent or consent to what he did next. I did not consent to being sexually assaulted,” she said. Athletic’s article contained graphic details from a request for a restraining order filed by the woman.
Police later announced that Bauer would not be prosecuted, but MLB’s collective domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policies give Commissioner Rob Manfred the right to impose a penalty if he sees fit, regardless of whether charges will be filed or a conviction will be pronounced.
Manfred’s investigation into Bauer’s situation resulted in a record 324-game suspension. Last offseason, a referee decided to reduce Bauer’s suspension to 194 games, still the longest in the history of politics.
Bauer’s suspension cost him around $38 million in salary. The umpire who reduced his suspension also ruled that his salary would be reduced for the first 50 games of the season, meaning the Dodgers still owe him money, but it’s closer to $22.5 million instead of $32 million .