Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer was recently placed on seven-day administrative leave by MLB while the league investigates recent allegations of sexual assault against him, and that leave was eventually extended by a week starting on July 9. Now according to multiple reports MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association have agreed to extend Bauer's administrative leave through July 27.
The extension allows MLB more time to compile evidence in the case and perhaps come to a decision on Bauer's status. Under the joint agreement governing such situations, MLB has latitude to mete out discipline, including lengthy suspensions, regardless of legal system outcomes. Bauer will continue to be paid during his administrative leave.
Bauer is under a temporary restraining order after a woman accused him of sexual assault. The allegations are being investigated by by the Pasadena (Calif.) Police Department, and it's possible that Bauer could face criminal charges. The Athletic's Brittany Ghiroli and Katie Strang reported details of the woman's encounters with him, which she says were initially consensual. "I agreed to have consensual sex; however, I did not agree or consent to what he did next. I did not agree to be sexually assaulted," the woman said.
The Athletic's report, which includes graphic details from the restraining order, including allegations that Bauer strangled and punched the woman, can be found here.
One of Bauer's agents, Jon Fetterolf, recently issued a statement to ESPN's Jeff Passan, in which he asserted that the relationship between Bauer and the accuser was "wholly consensual" and that "any allegations that the pair's encounters were not 100% consensual are baseless, defamatory, and will be refuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Bauer, 30, won the NL Cy Young award last season as a member of the Reds and signed a free agent contract with the Dodgers this past offseason that will pay him a record $40 million for 2021.
