MLB Rumors: Trevor Bauer Won't Be Pursued by Yankees, Mets After Dodgers Release

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced Thursday that they released pitcher Trevor Bauer, who was reinstated in December after a 194-game suspension that was issued following an investigation into allegations of domestic violence and sexual assault.

However, don't expect him to end up in New York now that he's a free agent.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported both the New York Mets and New York Yankees are not interested in signing the right-hander.

One person with the Mets said the team "dodged a bullet" by not previously signing him as a free agent, while Heyman noted "the Yankees could never consider him" since pitcher Gerrit Cole has disliked Bauer since they were college teammates at UCLA.

The Mets pursued the pitcher when he was a free agent ahead of the 2021 season, but he eventually signed with the Dodgers.

A "baseball decisionmaker" went as far as to tell Heyman it may require a "team on another planet" to sign Bauer at this point.

The Dodgers were unable to trade the 31-year-old before releasing him, and ESPN's Jeff Passan reported he can now sign elsewhere for $720,000. Yet it is clear there would be significant pushback to such a move given Heyman's report.

Major League Baseball suspended Bauer for two entire seasons in April, after a woman who had agreed to consensual sex with Bauer said in a request for a restraining order that he choked her until she was unconscious and then punched and penetrated her without her consent. Later, two more women came forward with similar accusations against Bauer, who has not faced criminal charges as a result of the allegations.

An arbitrator reduced his suspension to 194 games in December after Bauer filed an appeal. That is why he has been reinstated and is eligible to pitch for a team if it decides to sign him.

MLB released a statement at the time of the suspension reduction that said, in part, "While we believe a longer suspension was warranted, MLB will abide by the neutral arbitrator's decision, which upholds baseball's longest-ever active player suspension for sexual assault or domestic violence."

For his part, Bauer denied the allegations against him.

He has pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland, Cincinnati Reds and Dodgers in his career and last appeared in a game on June 28, 2021.