Former Cy Young Trevor Bauer Makes Bold Claim After Besting Los Angeles Dodgers Minor Leaguers
A year after the Los Angeles Dodgers officially cut ties with starting pitcher Trevor Bauer, the right-hander got a chance to put his stuff on display against his former team – well, kind of.
Bauer signed with an independent travel team, Asian Breeze, last Thursday, three days before they were scheduled to play the Dodgers. However, Los Angeles had a Cactus League game later in the afternoon, so the Breeze went against a handful of Dodgers minor leaguers in a back-field game at Camelback Ranch instead.
Regardless of the competition, Bauer thrived in his first appearance on U.S. soil in nearly three years, tossing 3.0 scoreless innings with four strikeouts.
"I'm a better pitcher than I was last time people here saw me," Bauer told reporters after the game. "Hopefully, today reminded them that I'm still an elite pitcher. If not, that's fine, too."
Bauer went one step further in a separate, even bolder quote, per USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
“I just stay ready,’’ Bauer said, “and maybe people somehow will remember that I'm still one of the best pitchers in the world.’’
Bauer, 34, hasn't faced MLB competition since 2021, when he was accused of sexual assault. The right-hander was placed on leave for the remainder of the season and eventually suspended for all of 2022.
Even after his suspension was shortened and lifted at the start of 2023, the Dodgers released Bauer as he was entering the final season of his three-year, $102 million contract. He wound up signing with the Yokohama DeNa BayStars of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.
One of Bauer’s several cases was settled in the fall with no money changing hands, which spurred the righty to officially pursue a comeback in MLB. As of early February, however, Bauer had not earned a contract offer from any of the league's 30 clubs.
Across his 10 seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers, Bauer went 83-69 with a 3.79 ERA, 1.243 WHIP, 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings and a 21.1 WAR.
Bauer was peaking right before he was exiled by the league, going 36-28 with a 3.07 ERA, 1.095 WHIP, 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings and a 13.5 WAR from 2018 to 2021. He won the NL Cy Young with the Reds in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, two years after finishing sixth in AL Cy Young voting as a member of the Indians.
During his time in Japan, Bauer went 11-4 with a 2.59 ERA, 1.130 WHIP and 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings.
It remains to be seen what impact Bauer's latest performance will have on his MLB comeback attempt.
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