Trevor Bauer Reportedly Won't Opt out of Final 2 Years, $64M on Dodgers Contract

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer reportedly will not opt out of the final two years and $64 million on his contract with the team, according to the MLB Network's Jon Heyman. 

Even though they were fresh off winning a World Series, the Dodgers spared no expense to sign the best pitcher on the free-agent market last winter, giving Bauer a three-year, $102 million deal.

The agreement provided him with player options for next year and 2023.

The 2020 National League Cy Young winner's performance in 2021 dipped slightly compared to that season as he was 8-5 with a 2.59 ERA and a 4.03 FIP through 17 starts, per FanGraphs. For some, it was more than a coincidence his advanced stats trended downward after MLB chose to enforce stricter rules on pitchers using sticky substances to better grip the baseball.  

Bauer's season came to an abrupt halt in June after The Athletic's Brittany Ghiroli and Katie Strang reported a woman in California was granted a temporary restraining order ex parte against him on June 28. The woman said he sexually and physically assaulted her on April 21 and May 15.

She said she had consented to having sex with Bauer but that she "did not agree or consent to what he did next ... I did not agree to be sexually assaulted."

During one of their encounters, the woman said Bauer choked her to the point of unconsciousness and punched her multiple times in the head.

One of Bauer's agents, Jon Fetterolf, denied the allegations in June, saying in a statement that Bauer and the woman "had a brief and wholly consensual sexual relationship.

Another of his agents, Rachel Luba, said on July 1 that she "will always defend my clients when I believe the accusations made are false." 

The Washington Post's Gus Garcia-Roberts and Molly Hensley-Clancy reported in August that another woman in Ohio had also sought a temporary order of protection against Bauer in June 2020 "after repeated threats from the then-Cincinnati Reds pitcher." According to Garcia-Roberts and Hensley-Clancy, her lawyer said Bauer punched and choked the woman during sex, with photos showing bruising on her face and blood in her eyes.

Fetterolf and Luba said those allegations were "categorically false."

MLB first placed Bauer on administrative leave on July 2 for a period of seven days. His leave continued to be extended for seven-day increments until the league and MLB Players Association agreed in September to rule him out for the remainder of the year.

Although a judge rescinded the woman's restraining order in August, police in Pasadena, California, continued to investigation the allegations and handed the case over to the district attorney’s office.

Running concurrently with Bauer's legal situation has been an investigation by MLB, and ESPN's Jeff Passan noted in August how the league can still levy a punishment in the absence of formal charges under its joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy.

"Based on the rules as written in the joint policy, the relevant precedents and the belief of numerous sources familiar with the process, the question isn't whether Trevor Bauer will be suspended," Passan wrote. "It's a question of how long."

He went on to report a suspension of at least one year was expected by some around MLB and that Bauer's ban could reach two years.

While plenty of questions remain for Bauer, one thing appears to be clear: He wants to suit up for the Dodgers in 2022.