Trevor Bauer’s return to high-level pro baseball began Friday in Yokohama, Japan, where the scandalized former Cy Young winner was unveiled as the newest member of the DeNA BayStars.
The Los Angeles Dodgers parted ways with Bauer after he was suspended for 324 games following sexual assault allegations in 2021, although the suspension was ultimately reduced to 194 games by Commissioner Rob Manfred. Bauer had $32 million left on his contract, with the Dodgers paying $22.5 million of that.
Bauer has denied the allegations and has never been charged with a crime. He has since filed a defamation lawsuit against his accuser, Lindsey Hill, who has since sued the 32-year-old pitcher, claiming he was trying to silence her. Hill was 27 when she says Bauer sexually assaulted her in April and May 2021.
Not a single Japanese reporter asked him about his suspension in the United States on allegations of domestic violence or the circumstances surrounding it.
The only question about it came from The Associated Press. Bauer denied the fact that the question indicated he was suspended from the major leagues.
Trevor Bauer’s return to professional baseball at the highest level began Friday in Yokohama, Japan
Not a single Japanese reporter asked him about his suspension or the allegations of sexual assault
“I don’t think that’s true,” he said of the suspension. “But I’m happy to be here. I’m happy to pitch again. I’ve always wanted to play in Japan.”
Afterwards, Bauer said the suspension technically addressed pay issues, adding that he was eligible to play that season but had not received any offers.
Hill, who is from San Diego, was granted a restraining order against Bauer on June 28, 2021 after treating her injuries at the hospital near her home and making a statement to police. Her attempts to obtain a permanent restraining order against him were denied here, and Los Angeles prosecutors said in February 2022 that they would not pursue criminal charges because there was insufficient evidence to support their claims beyond a reasonable doubt.
Bauer has admitted the two had intercourse, but says both encounters were “entirely consensual.”
Hill is among three women who have accused Bauer of sexual assault.
As The Washington Post revealed in August 2021, an Ohio woman had also attempted to obtain a restraining order against Bauer in June 2020, and police reports showed that she accused him of assault in 2017 after receiving death threats from the pitcher.
Then, in April, the Post reported another Ohio woman’s claim that Bauer also choked her unconscious and sodomized her without consent during his time with Cleveland’s minor-league affiliate in Columbus, Ohio. She also shared with the Post screenshots of text messages in which Bauer allegedly said to her, “I want to fuck you while you’re completely unconscious.”
Bauer has also denied these allegations.
The Dodgers parted ways with Bauer after he was suspended for 324 games following sexual assault allegations by Lindsey Hill in 2021 (pictured right).
Hill has accused Bauer of leaving her with bruises on her face and body after having sex
He will wear the No. 96, which he said was chosen to match goal for his average fastball speed.
The one-year deal could allow him to prove himself and return to MLB, where major league teams appear to have shunned signing him.
Bauer got off to a good start with just a focus on baseball.
Bauer said his goal with the BayStars is to hit 200 and keep his average fastball speed at 96 mph. He said he’s also working on a better change-up pitch, which he dubbed “split change-up.”
He said he hopes to play by mid-April – about two weeks into the Japanese season – and said he’s been training for the last 1 1/2 years.
“I did a lot of strength training and throwing,” he said. “I didn’t really take any time off. So I had a year and a half to develop it. I’m stronger than ever More powerful than ever.”
Yokohama hasn’t won a title in 25 years and Bauer said that’s his goal in the one-year deal.
“First and foremost, I want to help the Stars win a championship,” he said. “Part of that is pitching well. This includes helping and learning from teammates. If they have questions – you know – share my knowledge with them.”
He also reiterated his desire to play in Japan several times since a college tournament in 2009 at the Tokyo Dome. He said playing in Japan came to his mind before he won the Cy Young – and immediately after.
“The Tokyo Dome was sold out,” he said. “I’ve never played in front of so many people – probably together in my life. In the United States, college games aren’t very big, so see that amount of passion. How many people came to a college game in Japan. It really impressed me.’
He’s been practicing with the Japanese ball, which he says is a little softer with higher seams.
“But overall it just feels like a baseball and the fields move the same way. The speed is similar. I don’t notice a big difference.”
He was asked about his level of Japanese, which is around zero.
“I don’t know much at all. I’m looking forward to learning,” he said. “The first thing I need to learn is baseball terminology.”
Other teams in Japan have previously made similarly controversial signings.
Former Major League reliever Roberto Osuna, who was suspended for 75 games for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy, signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines last season.
Japan denies Steve Howe his drug use
In 1987, Dodgers reserve pitcher Steve Howe, who had had a drug-ridden career, attempted to sign with the Seibu Lions. But he didn’t play in the country after Japan’s baseball commissioner disqualified Howe for his drug abuse.
Bauer was a 2018 All-Star, going 83-69 with a 3.79 ERA in 10 seasons for Arizona (2012), Cleveland (2013-19), Cincinnati (2019-20), and the Dodgers. During the 2020 season shortened by the pandemic, he won the NL Cy Young Award with Cincinnati.
Last year, Bauer’s attorneys filed text messages between Hill and Bauer and others between Hill and her cousin, in which she describes sex with her client as “consensual” but said he “went too far” by leaving her with blue eyes have.
In response to the publication of Hill’s text messages, her lawyers provided with an unedited photo of her client showing the injuries she allegedly sustained as a result of a sexual encounter with Bauer.
“Look at this picture,” attorney Bryan Freedman told in a statement. “Nobody – absolutely nobody – can logically or legally agree with that. Trevor Bauer’s team continues to attempt to abuse an assault victim. You must stop. Now.’
Former major league reliever Roberto Osuna signed in Japan following domestic violence allegations
Bauer exits the courthouse after prosecutors denied Hill’s request for a protective order
Lawyers for Bauer and the woman said during a court session last month they intend to subpoena several witnesses, including Bauer, and argue the order at a hearing expected to last three days.
That hearing in Los Angeles County Superior Court has been adjourned to August 16.
Hill’s original file contains pictures of himself with scratches and bruises on his face and lips. She also said she had bruises on her gums and near her vagina, where she claims Bauer repeatedly hit her, leaving her “crying and shaking violently.”
She said she had sexual encounters with Bauer in April and May 2021, but both episodes turned violent. She specifically claimed that Bauer punched her in the face, vagina, and buttocks and strangled her with her own hair until she lost consciousness. Hill was later hospitalized, she said, from injuries sustained during her sexual encounters with Bauer.
During one encounter, Hill claims she passed out and found Bauer sodomizing her when she regained consciousness.
“I consented to having consensual sex; However, I did not consent or consent to what he did next,” Hill said in her filing. “I did not consent to being sexually assaulted.”
Hill said she was bleeding and having trouble walking after non-consensual anal sex, but added, “In my condition at the time, I didn’t think Trevor was a threat to do anything against my will for the rest of the night.”
Hill shared pictures of her injuries with her cousin via text messages
The next day, Hill said, Farmer jokingly asked Hill if she was “a little sore this morning”?
Hill said she told him she wasn’t enjoying it and said he seemed to understand.
Bauer continued to communicate with Hill via text messages and social media over the next three weeks, talking about baseball and her new job. Some of the conversations were “sexual in nature.”
When the two met again, Hill said they agreed on a safe word, which Bauer ignored and choked her until she lost consciousness. When she woke up, he slapped her in the face, she claimed.
“This was the first hit I felt, but it’s very likely that Trevor was already punching and scratching the right side of my face while I was unconscious,” she said.
“Trevor then hit me hard with a closed fist on the left side of my jaw, the left side of my head and both cheekbones. I remember it vividly and it was extremely terrifying and painful.
“I was absolutely frozen and scared. I could neither speak nor move. After hitting me several times, he turned me back onto my stomach and started choking me with hair. I lost consciousness again.’
Hill described their encounters as “amicable” but said he “went too far”.
Hill said she was crying and shaking after she regained consciousness and that Bauer reportedly began to comfort her, allegedly saying, “You’re safe. I am here. You’re sure… I would never do these things to you if it wasn’t sexual.’
When she returned to San Diego from Pasadena the following day, Hill had a severe headache and began to vomit. After talking to friends, she checked into a local emergency room, where she told the medical staff what had happened to her.
In a subsequent text message exchange included in the petition and verified by , Hill Bauer said doctors thought the “bruising/swelling” on her face would continue for a week but she wasn’t sure when her “head symptoms” would subside.
“I just want it all to go away,” she wrote to Bauer.
“I feel so bad that this happened,” he replied. “I wish I could be there with you.”
“Just grateful for showing you care,” she wrote.
‘I do. I absolutely do,” he wrote to her. ‘I never want to see you hurt.’
After Hill went to the hospital, she spoke to several San Diego Police Department detectives, but said she downplayed the alleged incident as “rough sex” and did not reveal Bauer’s name.
“I was afraid of what Trevor would do if he found out,” Hill said in the request for the restraining order. “I’m still afraid that Trevor will find me and hurt me because I went to the hospital.”
Some text messages between Hill and Bauer were intended by police to elicit a confession
In the document, Hill stated that she spoke to Bauer over the phone at the direction of police, who recorded the call.
During this conversation, Hill said she asked Bauer, “What did you do to me while I was unconscious?”
In response, he is said to have admitted that he repeatedly slapped her on the buttocks. She said he changed the subject when she said she wasn’t OK with being hit.
Hill claimed that the call ended with Bauer admitting he hit her and asking how they could move on and if he could contact her.
“I told him he could because I didn’t know if the police needed to collect any more messages from him as evidence,” she said. “As far as I know, there is an open criminal investigation. I have not been informed if the proper authorities intend to arrest Trevor and press charges against him.
“I intend to do anything required of me in connection with a criminal proceeding,” she continued. “When the shock wears off, I realize the seriousness of the sexual assault I suffered. I don’t want Trevor to inflict what I suffered on anyone else.”
In one of her last messages to Bauer, Hill claims she told him the best way for him to help her was “never do that to anyone else again.”
“I would never do anything to hurt anyone,” he replied. “That includes you.”