The Los Angeles Dodgers recently designated starting pitcher Trevor Bauer for assignment, making him available to be signed by any MLB team.
The move also means that the Dodgers will be paying Bauer $22.5 million not to play baseball for them this season.
According to MLB salary data from Spotrac, only 30 MLB players are set to earn more than the amount the Dodgers will be paying Bauer this season.
Bauer was recently reinstated after serving a 194-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s policy on domestic violence.
Will Another Team Sign Trevor Bauer?
One MLB GM told ESPN earlier this month, “I don’t expect anyone will sign him.”
While it’s unlikely that Bauer gets another contract, there are several teams that could use a quality starting pitcher.
Bauer, now 31, appeared to be morphing into one of the best pitchers in baseball prior to the incident. He went 8-5 with a 2.59 ERA in 17 starts with the Dodgers in 2021 after posting a 1.73 ERA in 2020.
Bauer’s original suspension was set at 324 games.
The former Dodgers pitcher is only one of three players in the last 56 years to receive a ban of more than a full season (162 games).
“Some teams will just take the arm,” another front-office executive told ESPN, “and they’ll deal with the blowback later.”
Bauer will officially become a free agent on Friday, January 13.
If another team signs Bauer for the veteran minimum, the Dodgers stand to save $720,000.
Bauer Planning For 2023 Season Vlog If Signed
After the arbitration hearing was over, Bauer took to his Twitter to celebrate the decision, telling fans that he will be making a 2023 season vlog.
The vlog will be released on his Bauer Outage YouTube channel.
The 2023 season Vlog is going to be 🔥🔥! Can’t wait to see y’all out at a stadium soon!
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) December 23, 2022
Bauer also released a statement thanking members of the Dodgers’ clubhouse for their support, saying that he is looking forward to “competing elsewhere.”
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