Trevor Bauer is following the road to redemption and hopes to return to Major League Baseball after accusations of sexual assault derailed his award-winning career.
The former all-star has revealed that he has “stopped agreeing to engage in rough sex acts” after a consensual encounter in 2021 led to assault allegations.
The ex-Dodgers pitcher was accused by Lindsay Hill of taking things too far, allegedly punching her, choking her unconscious and sodomizing her without her consent.
Bauer was never charged in the case and the pair settled their respective defamation counterlawsuits in October 2023.
Since the resolution, Bauer has been actively angling to get back into North American baseball, but has yet to find a franchise willing to take him on.
He has always maintained that everything that happened between him and Hill was consensual and agreed upon, but says he no longer agrees to get into the rough stuff and hasn’t been seeking casual relationships.
“I’ve stopped having, like, casual sexual relationships,” the 32-year-old told Tomi Lahren during an interview on OutKick. “I stopped agreeing to engage in rough sex acts.
“I’m looking for more people that add value to my life instead of something that I’m doing for a couple of hours on a night and then kind of forget about. I have other things that I’m focused on. I’d like to go back to work. I have a job, I run a business.
“Maybe I go back to dating at some point in the future, but (it’s) not something I’m focused on right now.”
Bauer won the Cy Young Award with the Cincinnati Reds during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, going 5-4 with a stellar 1.73 ERA.
He then signed a three-year, US$102-million deal with the L.A. Dodgers as a free agent, but didn’t complete the first season due to his suspension.
In late 2022, an arbitrator reduced Bauer’s ban to 194 games and he was reinstated before the Dodgers ultimately released the pitcher.
He signed with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of the Nippon Professional Baseball league for 2023, appearing in 19 games and posting a record of 10-4 with an impressive 2.76 ERA.
Whether a new MLB team takes a chance on the former stud remains to be seen, but it won’t be for Bauer’s lack of trying.
In November last year, former teammate Mookie Betts went to bat for Bauer, saying that Bauer is a “great guy” who should get a second chance in North America.
“My experience with Bauer is not anything remotely close to what everyone else’s experience is. I love him,” Betts said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “I think he’s an awesome guy. The personal things? I have no control. I have no say. Obviously, nothing ever came from it.
“He’s an awesome pitcher. He’s a great guy, somebody who wants to take the mound every fifth day. But, at the end of the day, I don’t make the decision. That’s a decision that’s not as simple as baseball.”
Bauer was appreciative of the backing from his former teammate, posting “Well, well, well … the ‘anonymous sources’ are going to hate this … Appreciate you brother @mookiebetts”
“Enjoyed lining up next to you, @mookiebetts. I’m sorry we couldn’t finish what we started but whether it’s as a teammate or a rival, I hope to see you on the field again soon.”