Trevor Bauer on Intentionally Tipping Pitches to Dodgers: 'Just Having Fun'

Trevor Bauer is not taking himself too seriously in spring training.  

The Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher told reporters Wednesday that he decided to tip his pitches to Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Matt Beaty during their Monday matchup because of "an inside joke that I can't tell you guys, but just having fun, joking around."

Bauer used his glove to relay to Beaty at the plate, and Reds utility man Derek Dietrich explained his teammate's mindset during the game's broadcast: 

Beaty, who had hit a solo home run off Sonny Gray in the second inning, flied out to center to lead off the fourth despite Bauer giving him an advantage. The Reds won 6-2. 

Bauer wanted credit where credit was due:

The Houston Astros cheating scandal has rocked baseball since MLB's investigation findings were released in mid-January. The Astros were found to have used in-game technology to illegally steal opposing pitchers' signs during games in the 2017 season, which ended with Houston defeating the Dodgers in the World Series in seven games.

Bauer was asked Wednesday whether he purposefully did this against the Dodgers as a result:

"No, it had nothing to do with the Dodgers necessarily," Bauer said, per the Cincinnati Enquirer's Bob Nightengale. He continued:

"It wasn't, like, team specific. Like I said, it was just joking around and having some fun. I did it, actually, twice last year in the season, something that I'll probably do at some point again this season. I think there is a lot of interesting outcomes that can come from it psychologically and competitively and stuff. Spring training is a time when you work on things."

Bauer made clear last month that he does not think what the Astros did is a laughing matter, though (h/t Nightengale):

"I'm not going to let them forget the fact that they are hypocrites, they are cheaters, they've stolen from a lot of other people and the game itself was completely unfair. 

"They've negatively affected the fans, they've negatively affected players, they've negatively affected kids and the future of baseball – which is what I'm most upset about."

The Reds will open their 2020 regular-season campaign against the St. Louis Cardinals on March 26. They are not, much to Bauer's presumed dismay, scheduled to play the Astros.