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Former Cy Young award winner Trevor Bauer, who last pitched in the major leagues in 2021 with the Dodgers, faced off on Sunday in an exhibition against minor leaguers from his former organization.
The Dodgers cut Bauer last January after he received the longest suspension ever under MLB’s domestic violence policy, which was originally a 324-game ban but was later reduced to 194 by an independent arbiter. He then spent last season pitching in Japan in Nippon Professional Baseball with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars going 10-4 with 130 strikeouts in 130 and 2/3 innings and recording a 2.76 ERA.
Bauer was pitching on Sunday for a pay-to-play Japanese tryout team called the Asian Breeze, who regularly scrimmage groups of minor leaguers, in one of the backfields of Camelback Ranch, the Dodgers’ spring training home.
According to The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya, Bauer “yielded hard contact” but struck out four batters over three innings of work. He also reportedly hit 99 mph and showed off a splitter which he learned last season in Japan.
“I mean for those who saw me pitch, I think it was pretty obvious I was still elite,” Bauer said. “I’m a better pitcher now than I was the last time people here saw me. Hopefully today reminded them that I’m still an elite pitcher.”
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that no MLB scouts or Dodgers executives attended the scrimmage.
However, there were an estimated 150-200 fans, many of whom wore Bauer jerseys or “Bring Back Bauer” shirts.
The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported in February that Bauer would accept the major league minimum salary, $740,000.
“This isn’t about the money,” Bauer’s agent Jon Fetterolf said. “Really, what he’s looking for is only a chance and an opportunity.”
Bauer’s next attempt at facing live hitting will be against former minor leaguer and Youtuber Eric Sim, also known as “King of JUCO.”
At this point, it would be very surprising if any team took a chance on signing the 33-year-old Bauer. The PR nightmare that would follow would almost certainly not be worth the trouble for someone who hasn’t pitched against major league competition since 2021.
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