Major League Baseball placed Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Trevor Bauer on seven-day administrative leave on Friday, just days after word surfaced that he was being investigated by the Pasadena (Calif.) Police Department for assault. The league announced the decision in a statement Friday afternoon:
MLB's investigation into the allegations made against Trevor Bauer is ongoing. While no determination in the case has been made, we have made the decision to place Mr. Bauer on seven-day administrative leave effective immediately. MLB continues to collect information in our ongoing investigation concurrent with the Pasadena Police Department's active criminal investigation. We will comment further at the appropriate time.
Bauer's agents have since issued a statement to Passan indicating he will not appeal MLB's decision.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had declared on Thursday that Bauer would make his next scheduled start, set for Sunday against the Washington Nationals. "I'm in the position of following the lead of Major League Baseball," Roberts said. "Their recommendation was for us to -- he was our scheduled Sunday start -- and to move forward and have him start that game on Sunday. And so for me to try to read into it anymore outside of just following what they had advised me and us to do, I just choose to follow kind of their lead."
The allegations against Bauer are severe. The woman's lawyer, Marc Garelick, told TMZ Sports that he secured an order of protection against Bauer for her under the state's Domestic Violence Prevention Act. Garelick said the woman "suffered severe physical and emotional pain" following a "recent assault."
The Athletic's Katie Strang and Brittany Ghiroli reported details from the restraining order on Wednesday. "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.
Bauer's agent, Jon Fetterolf, issued a statement to Passan, saying the relationship was "wholly consensual." Here's part of Fetterolf's statement:
"Mr. Bauer had a brief and wholly consensual sexual relationship initiated by [the woman] beginning in April 2021. [...] In the days following their second and final encounter, [the woman] shared photos of herself and indicated that she had sought medical care for a concussion. Mr. Bauer responded with concern and confusion, and [the woman] was neither angry nor accusatory.
Mr. Bauer and [the woman] have not corresponded in over a month and have not seen each other in over six weeks. [...] 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."
Under the league's collectively bargained domestic violence policy, MLB is allowed to discipline Bauer even if no criminal charges are brought against him. Placing a player on administrative leave while the legal process plays out is a standard response.
For more fallout from the the Bauer allegations listen below and follow "Nothing Personal With David Samson" where we examine Major League Baseball's decision to place the Dodgers pitcher on leave ahead of his scheduled Fourth of July start.
Bauer, 30, won the National League Cy Young Award last season as a member of the Cincinnati Reds. He signed a three-year contract with the Dodgers in February worth $102 million.
The Dodgers will promote right-hander Brusdar Graterol from Triple-A Oklahoma City to take Bauer's spot on the active roster, according to Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times.
