Rangers, Teams Free to Sign Trevor Bauer after Dodgers Release

The Los Angeles Dodgers officially released pitcher Trevor Bauer on Thursday, a week after designating him for assignment.

The release means the Dodgers were unable to find a taker for Bauer on the trade market. Bauer can be signed for the league minimum, which is less than $800,000.

There have been no credible reports linking the Texas Rangers to Bauer. The Rangers have spent this off-season bolstering its starting rotation, signing four pitchers — Jacob deGrom, Andrew Heaney, Jake Odorizzi and Nathan Eovaldi. Those four join Martin Perez and Jon Gray, who are holdovers from last season.

Bauer was reinstated after MLB put Bauer on administrative leave by MLB in July of 2021 when he was placed under investigation for the alleged assault of a San Diego woman. He was suspended for 194 games.

Among the accusations made against Bauer was that he had physically and sexually assaulted the victim on two separate occasions, sodomized her without consent, punched her in the face, and choked her to the point of unconsciousness.

Ultimately, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office filed no charges against Bauer, but two other accusers came forward from his time with Cleveland. MLB suspended Bauer for the entire 2022 season. Bauer is suing reporters for defamation and the victim in the case is suing Bauer.

There are other reports of several teams that won’t be going after Bauer. The New York Post reported Thursday that the Yankees and Mets are not interested. The Post quoted an unnamed baseball decision-maker who said that Bauer might need a “team on another planet” to sign him, noting Bauer’s toxicity.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the Padres are not interested in Bauer, either.

Bauer has an 83-69 career record with a 3.79 ERA. He won the National League Cy Young in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, going 5-4 with a league-low 1.73 ERA. Bauer went 8-5 with a 2.59 ERA in 2021 with the Dodgers in just 17 starts.

You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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