Dodgers Should Release Trevor Bauer Says LA Insider

Bill Plaschke of the LA Times wrote a poignant column abdicating for the Dodgers to cut all ties with controversial pitcher Trevor Bauer.

The LA County district attorney's office decided not to criminally charge Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer with sexual assault this past Tuesday. Now that the DA has made their decision, MLB must decide whether or not to suspend Bauer. The Dodgers also have some decisions to make when it comes to Bauer.

The LA Times Bill Plaschke believes there's only one decision to make. Release Bauer.

"It’s time for the Dodgers to do what they should have done months ago. It’s time for them to publicly disown Trevor Bauer by promising their fans and community he will never again take the mound in a Dodgers uniform. It’s one sentence. It speaks volumes. ‘Trevor Bauer will never pitch for us again.’”

If the Dodgers decide to release Bauer, LA would have to eat the remaining $64M on his contract.

Plaschke thinks the Bauer situation goes beyond the financials and the Dodgers suddenly thin starting rotation.

"Even for an ownership group that values winning over everything, there seems no reasonable scenario in which they would want to shred all credibility by keeping this guy."

The respected journalist also mentions that in his opinion, the Dodgers shouldn't wait for a potential suspension. Plaschke wants LA to pull the plug right now. 

“That [a suspension] still shouldn’t stop the Dodgers from publicly cutting him.”

Calling the Trevor Bauer situation challenging for the Dodgers would be an understatement. One option is to keep him on the roster and risk significant and serious backlash from Dodgers fans. The other route is to cut the cord.

Clearly, Plaschke thinks there's no question that the Dodgers should do the latter.