Major League Baseball handed out the most severe punishment under the sport's domestic violence policy on Friday, suspending Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer for the equivalent of two full seasons.
Bauer is the first player to appeal punishment through the MLB domestic violence policy.
Bauer denied committing any violation of the league's domestic violence and sexual assault policy. I expect this action to be successful. The confidentiality of the proceedings is respected by my representatives and I.
Bauer is accused of sexual assault by a San Diego woman who requested a restraining order and accused him of taking rough sex too far over the course of two encounters last April and May. The L.A. judge denied the woman a permanent restraining order.
After winning the National League Cy Young Award in the 2020 season, Bauer joined the Dodgers on a three-year, $102 million contract in February 2021. He played in 81 regular-season games on the administrative league. He doesn't get credit for previous time served because his suspension doesn't begin until Friday.
In accordance with the terms of the Policy, the Commissioner's Office will not issue any further statements at this point in time.
The Dodgers are at home against the Detroit Tigers.
The Commissioner has issued his decision regarding discipline after the conclusion of the investigation into the allegations against Bauer. The Dodgers organization does not condone or excuse acts of domestic violence or sexual assault. Since the investigation began, we've cooperated fully with MLB, and we support the Commissioner's enforcement of the Policy. The Commissioner has the right to make a decision. We will not comment further until the process is complete.
Major League Baseball and the MLB Players' Association unveiled its joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy in August of 2015, which grants MLB commissioner Rob Manfred the authority to suspend players under "just cause."
The last time Bauer pitched was on June 28 of last year. On the same day, a woman filed a request for a domestic violence restraining order against Bauer, accusing him of attacking her over the course of two sexual encounters at his Pasadena, California, home in April and May. In her declaration, the woman claimed that Bauer sodomized her without her consent, that he choked her unconscious on multiple occasions, and that he scratched and punched her throughout her body.
Bauer and his attorneys called the accusations fraudulent and baseless in an initial statement.
On July 2, Bauer was placed on administrative leave, which means that he is not allowed to be around major league facilities while investigations are ongoing. The Dodgers did not feel it was appropriate to have Bauer's merchandise in its stores, so they canceled his scheduled bobblehead night.
The temporary restraining order was dissolved by the judge at the conclusion of the four-day hearing.
The judge said that the injuries shown in the photographs are terrible, but added that if she set limits, this case would be clear. She did not consider all the consequences when setting limits, and she did not exceed limits that the petitioner set.
The Washington Post published a story about a second woman, from Ohio, who sought a temporary restraining order against Bauer in June of 2020 and also accused him of assault. The woman dismissed the order six weeks later after Bauer's attorneys threatened legal action, according to the report. Photographs showing injuries that were allegedly caused by Bauer, as well as threatening messages, were included in the Post story. If I saw you again, that would happen.
Bauer's attorneys questioned the validity of the photos and messages and called the woman's allegations of physical abuse "categorically false".
The case was sent to the L.A. County District Attorney's Office after the Pasadena Police Department concluded their investigation. The charges of assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury and sodomy of an unconscious person were rejected by the District Attorney.
After a thorough review of all the available evidence, including the civil restraining order proceedings, witness statements and the physical evidence, the people are unable to prove the relevant charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
At one point in the video, Bauer said he never punched the woman in the face. I did not punch her in the vagina. I did not scratch her face. I never had sex with her in a sexual way. While we did have consensual rough sex, the disturbing acts and conduct that she described did not occur.
The woman who provided photographs and medical records as part of her DVRO declaration claimed she woke up the morning after the second sexual encounter with two black eyes, a swollen jaw and cheekbones, dark red scratches on the right side of her face, bruised gums, and a lump on the side of
Bauer's lawyers filed defamation lawsuits against two media companies, claiming that Deadspin knowingly published false information in its coverage of the sexual assault allegations and that The Athletic led a campaign to maliciously target and harass.
Bauer's lawyers subpoenaed the Pasadena Police Department for missing phone records from his accuser, claiming in a court filing that the requested materials will further reveal the plan to ruin Respondent's reputation and career and to earn a large paycheck.
Gould-Saltman ruled in an April 4 hearing that Bauer would not have access to the phone records because his attorneys did not file the proper motion and that she was skeptical of the argument that the records would show she misled the legal process.
Bauer's attorneys filed a defamation and interference lawsuit against the woman in the US District Court for the Central District of California. She made false and malicious statements and generated a media frenzy based on her lies, according to the suit.
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