Former Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer said he would “love to have a second chance to do things better” and return to the major leagues after sexual assault allegations halted his career, leading to a lengthy suspension and eventual release of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Bauer, who played baseball in Japan last year, told FOX News on Thursday that he was “reckless” and “made a lot of mistakes along the way.” He hasn’t pitched in the majors since June 2021, when a San Diego-area woman accused him of sexually assaulting her. Accusations from two other women followed, and Bauer received a 324-game suspension that was eventually reduced by an arbitrator to 194 games. The Dodgers released him in January 2023.
Bauer has denied the allegations, saying they were consensual encounters. He and the San Diego woman settled their civil lawsuits out of court, but he still has an active civil case against a woman in Arizona.
“I agreed to do things I shouldn’t have done,” Bauer said in a television interview on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.” “It was reckless. It hurt a lot of people along the way. It made things very difficult for Major League Baseball, for the Dodgers, for my teammates, for my friends, for my family and for the people close to me. So I’ve done a lot of things. I reflected on it and made a lot of changes in my life to address it.”
When asked if he apologized for his actions, Bauer said: “I’m certainly taking responsibility for my role in this. I’ve put myself in a lot of positions that have made things very difficult for people, and I’m trying to be better. “
Bauer recently opted for free agency after ending his one-year contract with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. He said that he believes he “is still one of the best pitchers in the world” and that he and his agent have spoken to “a lot of different teams” about a possible return to the majors.
“I would love to play baseball. I mean, that’s my goal, to play baseball here in the United States,” Bauer said. “I’m still one of the best throwers in the world. I would like to compete at the highest level. I’m also passionate about helping people, being good for the game. I think I’ve done a lot. Unfortunately, I had injuries in the first half of my career and I would love to have a second chance to do things better.”
