The league announced Thursday that Bauer's suspension for violating MLB's domestic violence policy has been reduced to 194 games by an arbiter, bringing some clarity to a saga that has been unfolding for the last year and a half.
The time Bauer served on the restricted list gave him credit for the time he spent on the suspended list. Bauer's pay will be docked from the Los Angeles Dodgers to make up for it.
The Dodgers have 14 days to make a decision on his return to the team. Bauer's contract with the Dodgers originally called for him to be paid $32 million, but he is under contract for only one more year.
The team said that they had just been told of the ruling and would make a statement as soon as practical.
A San Diego woman obtained a temporary restraining order against the former Cy Young Award winner after he was accused of sexually assault. Bauer is still litigating with the woman. Bauer and his legal team have denied the allegations made by two other women.
The L.A. District Attorney's Office didn't prosecute Bauer in February, but MLB gave him a longer suspension than the previous longest one. The first person to appeal was Bauer.
Both MLB and the MLB Players' Association retain the services of independent arbiters.
MLB will abide by the neutral arbiter's decision, which upholds baseball's longest-ever active player suspension for sexual assault or domestic violence. The witnesses were thanked for their participation in the process. Due to the confidentiality provisions of the joint program, we are unable to provide more information.
The Dodgers signed Bauer to a three-year, $102 million contract in February of 2021, but he didn't pitch in the first year.
A woman from San Diego filed a request for a domestic violence restraining order against Bauer the next day, accusing him of attacking her over the course of two sexual encounters at his Pasadena, California, home. According to the woman, the man sodomized her without her consent and left her with injuries that would have required an emergency room visit. Bauer and his attorneys called the allegations "baseless" in an initial statement.
Bauer was placed on administrative leave by MLB. Two other women made similar allegations to the Post. A woman told the Post that in June 2020 she sought a DVRO against Bauer, accusing him of attacking her without her consent during sex and sending threatening messages. The woman dismissed her order after Bauer's attorneys threatened legal action.
MLB said it conducted an extensive investigation into Bauer's off-field conduct, but didn't say how many women made assault allegations against him, nor did it say how many of them were true.
Bauer said the acts wereconsensual. He published sexually explicit text messages from the alleged victims to show they were consenting. After an L.A. judge dismissed the San Diego woman's request for a permanent restraining order, Bauer released a seven-minute video denying her version of events.
The L.A. County District Attorney's Office decided against filing criminal charges against Bauer in February of 2022. Sources say that MLB suspended him three months later after hearing similar allegations.
The domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy was introduced in August 2015. The policy allows the commissioner to suspend players under "just cause" and does not require him to meet the proof beyond a reasonable doubt threshold required in the country's court system. The suspensions ranged from 15 to 161 games and were the result of negotiated settlements in which players waive their right to appeal.
Bauer became the first player to challenge a ruling, triggering a lengthy process in which a three person panel, consisting of one rep from MLB, another from the MLBPA and an independent arbiter, reviews findings and interviews witnesses to determine whether to uphold,
The Golden Spikes Award was won by Bauer in 2011. He clashed with teammates in Arizona, prompting a trade, and had two notable incidents in Cleveland, allegedly cutting his finger with a drone before a 2016 playoff start and throwing a ball over the center-field fence.
Bauer, who has spoken openly about being bullied as a teenager, clashed with Manfred over his handling of the Houston Astros'sign-stealing scandal and his efforts to market the game to a younger audience. He is one of the most forward- thinking pitchers in the sport and sometimes at odds with his teammates.
During the 2020 season, Bauer won the Cy Young Award after making a case for it in the previous year. The Dodgers outbid the New York Mets to sign Bauer despite the fact that he had a history of cyberbully. In 17 starts in the first half of the season, Bauer posted a 2.59 earned run average.
Shortly after MLB placed Bauer on administrative leave, the Dodgers canceled their planned bobblehead night for him. The president of the team sent an email to employees saying he was troubled by the allegations. The team has not commented in public.
The Dodgers wouldn't have been able to pay Bauer in 2022. The Dodgers, hesitant to exceed the luxury-tax threshold a third year in a row, mostly stayed away from the star free agents this year because of uncertainty over the arbitrators' ruling.
In recent months, Bauer has continued to populate his channel with videos of him giving pitching tips and taking part in lively bullpen sessions.
Two media companies have been sued by Bauer. The San Diego woman followed with a countersuit. Bauer's defamation suit against one of her former attorneys was dismissed by the district court judge. Selna wrote that the initial denial of the restraining order by the L.A. Superior Court Judge did not determine whether Bauer had committed an act of abuse or not.
Selna said that the state court proceedings didn't decide if Bauer did not assault the woman.
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