Trevor Bauer, who was released by the Los Angeles Dodgers in January, has agreed to a one-year pact with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball League, the team announced Monday. The contract, originally reported by Yuki Yamada of Sankei Sports, will pay Bauer $3 million (400 million Japanese yen) plus incentives.
"I am very excited to be able to play for the BayStars this season. It is my dream to play in the Japanese professional baseball world, and I will be able to show that dream in front of the fans," Bauer said in a statement. "As a team, I don't think there is a better team than the BayStars. I am very happy to have the opportunity to become a member of a wonderful team and aim for the championship together. I miss the players and the fans. I'm already looking forward to it, and I'm looking forward to seeing you in the city of Yokohama."
Bauer, 31, has not pitched in a Major League Baseball contest since June 28, 2021. He was subsequently placed on the restricted list while the league office and the Pasadena Police Department investigated an accusation that he had assaulted a woman. The Athletic's Britt Ghiroli and Katie Strang reported on the woman's allegations toward Bauer. "I agreed to have consensual sex; however, I did not agree or consent to what he did next. I did not agree to be sexually assaulted," she said. The Athletic's article contained graphic details from a restraining order request filed by the woman.
Police later announced that Bauer would not face criminal charges, but MLB's joint domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy affords commissioner Rob Manfred the right to levy a punishment if he saw fit, regardless of whether charges are brought or a conviction is handed out.
Manfred's inquiry into Bauer's situation resulted in a record 324-game suspension. This past offseason, an arbitrator ruled to shorten Bauer's suspension to 194 games, still the longest in the policy's history.
Bauer's suspension cost him around $38 million in salary. The arbitrator who reduced his suspension also ruled that he would be docked his pay for the first 50 games of this season, meaning that the Dodgers still owe him money, but instead of $32 million it's closer to $22.5 million.
