Former Cy Young Winner Trevor Bauer Makes Free Agent Pitch, Shares Updates on Market
Trevor Bauer is only four years removed from winning the NL Cy Young Award, but the veteran starting pitcher has yet to secure an MLB contract this offseason.
Bauer – who previously pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers – spent 2023 in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2021.
Midway through that season, Bauer was accused of sexual assault. He was immediately placed on leave and wound up receiving a record-long suspension from the commissioner’s office.
Bauer eventually got his suspension reduced upon appeal, but the Dodgers still released him in January 2023. From there, Bauer signed a one-year deal with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars while his legal matters were being sorted out.
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 Bauer tells it, however, he and his representatives have yet to make much progress in finding him a new home stateside.
Bauer took to social media Wednesday, pitching himself to potential suitors by comparing his demands to those of fellow free agent Blake Snell. While Snell – the reigning NL Cy Young – is pursuing a long-term, nine-figure contract, Bauer claims he would be willing to play for the league minimum.
The 33-year-old added that he would prefer a contract with incentives.
With all of that being said, Bauer confirmed that no MLB team had offered him any contract to this point.
More specifically, Bauer was asked about the Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals. He reiterated that none of those teams had made him an offer, but stated his agents had spoken to the Phillies on multiple occasions.
Bauer said he would “love” to play for any of those clubs, and that he would enjoy joining Sonny Gray in St. Louis. Gray inked a three-year, $75 million deal with the Cardinals in November.
The Diamondbacks selected Bauer with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft before trading him to the Indians in 2013. After seven years in Cleveland, Bauer spent a year-and-a-half with the Reds, with whom he won the 2020 NL Cy Young.
It didn't take long for Bauer to cash in on his success, as he inked a three-year, $102 million deal with the Dodgers a few months later.
Bauer owns a 3.79 ERA, 1.243 WHIP and 21.1 WAR for his career. In his last four seasons before he was exiled from MLB, Bauer went 36-28 with a 3.07 ERA, 1.095 WHIP, 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings and a 13.5 WAR.
Over in Japan, Bauer went 11-4 with a 2.59 ERA, 1.130 WHIP and 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings.
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