Column: Trevor Bauer’s impasse with MLB creates an ongoing nightmare for Dodgers

Trevor Bauer pitches for the Dodgers towards the Colorado Rockies in a spring coaching sport final 12 months.

(Rob Tringali / Getty Pictures)

He was there when Clayton Kershaw pitched seven excellent innings.

He was there when the Dodgers celebrated Jackie Robinson Day.

And he was there after they performed their most full sport of the season to complete a four-game sweep of the tanking Cincinnati Reds.

Trevor Bauer wasn’t there in particular person, however he didn’t should be. Almost a 12 months after sexual assault allegations towards him initially surfaced, Bauer stays out of sight however undoubtedly not out of thoughts. His presence is in all places.

That was the case once more Sunday, when a 9-1 victory over the Reds was overshadowed by hypothesis of whether or not Bauer would return to Dodger Stadium.

If this had been some other participant, there would have been completely no probability of him making an attempt to stroll right into a locker room during which he didn’t know whether or not he could be welcome.

With Bauer, the Dodgers couldn’t make certain.

He strives to painting himself as an iconoclast and craves consideration. He operates a YouTube channel with greater than 400,000 subscribers.

In the end, there have been no reported Bauer sightings, however that just about didn’t matter. Whether or not he supposed to take action or not, Bauer nonetheless managed to shift the main target from the staff to himself.

And he'll proceed to take action, with The Instances’ Invoice Shaikin reporting that Bauer continues to be wanting into the settlement between the commissioner’s workplace and gamers union to increase his administrative depart via Friday.

Bauer is exploring whether or not the settlement is binding, Shaikin reported, citing folks accustomed to the scenario who weren't licensed to discuss it publicly.

On the floor, Bauer’s questioning of the settlement appears like a ploy to pressure the slow-moving hand of MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. Bauer is ineligible to play whereas on depart, but when the settlement isn’t binding, Manfred would theoretically run the chance of Bauer reporting to work if he doesn’t instantly droop him.

Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer delivers in a spring coaching sport on March 1, 2021.

(Rob Tringali / Getty Pictures)

Bauer maintains he didn’t sexually assault the San Diego girl who accused him of doing so throughout two encounters. The Los Angeles County district legal professional stated he couldn’t show any expenses past an inexpensive doubt, however Manfred may droop him with out assembly that normal. Bauer can attraction any suspension.

The deadlock has created a nightmare for the Dodgers. No matter occurred between Bauer and the girl, a corporation that champions itself as an agent for optimistic social change is now hooked up to a participant with a historical past of allegations that he harassed ladies, mocked transgender folks and unfold racist conspiracy theories.

The Dodgers knew of his status after they signed him. They couldn’t have identified he could be accused of sexual assault, however they knew they had been buying a participant who contradicted their self-proclaimed values.

The scenario hasn’t negatively affected the staff. The Dodgers reached the Nationwide League Championship Sequence final season and have a 7-2 file this 12 months.

“I feel that we’re simply centered on profitable a baseball sport,” supervisor Dave Roberts stated.

However the picture the Dodgers developed over generations is being diminished one headline at a time.

By now, Bauer has made clear he gained’t disappear quietly. If something, he has proven an inclination to create as a lot noise as attainable, submitting lawsuits towards media entities and remaining energetic on social media.

He additionally seems disinterested in pursuing probably the most expedient path again to the sector, which might virtually definitely contain him negotiating a suspension with MLB. However accepting a suspension would imply he must conform to not attraction Manfred’s discovering that he violated league coverage, and he has maintained he did nothing improper.

By dragging out the method, he's not solely tainting the Dodgers’ historical past but in addition clouding the staff’s current.

Within the early innings of Kershaw’s pitch-count-thwarted excellent sport, phrase surfaced of the now-disputed settlement to increase Bauer’s paid depart.

Two days later, the Dodgers had been slipping into their No. 42 jerseys and getting ready to fulfill Jackie Robinson’s son when information broke that Bauer may problem the settlement and present up at Dodger Stadium on Sunday.

On the Sunday in query, Freddie Freeman impressed a pair extra stadium-wide chants. Andrew Heaney seemed like a brand new pitcher, hanging out 11 in six scoreless innings. Bolstered by a seven-run fourth inning that displayed their offensive potential, the Dodgers gained their sixth consecutive sport.

And one way or the other, the story of the dayinvolved a participant who wasn’t on the sector.