Trevor Bauer’s suspension reduced it to 194 games; Re-power, effective immediately

Major League Baseball announced Thursday night that 324 games have been suspended Trevor Bauer It was reduced to 194 games on appeal. He has already served the entirety of this ban. He will be reinstated, effective immediately.

“Today, MLB and MLBPA’s chosen neutral arbitrator confirmed that Trevor Bauer violated Major League Baseball’s common domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy.The association said in a statement. “After an exhaustive review of the available evidence, the neutral arbitrator upheld the 194-game unpaid suspension. As part of the decision, the arbitrator reinstated Mr. Bauer effectively immediately, with a loss of pay covering the 144 games he was suspended through the 2022 season. In addition, the arbitrator reduced Bauer’s pay for the first 50 games of the 2023 season (i.e., the period covering March 30, 2023, to 23 May 2023). While we believe a longer suspension was warranted, MLB will abide by the neutral arbitrator’s decision, which upholds the longest suspension of players in baseball for sexual assault or domestic violence.

We understand that this process has been difficult for the witnesses involved and we thank them for their participation. Due to the joint program’s collectively negotiated confidentiality provisions, we are unable to provide further details at this time.“

A California woman filed a civil suit accusing Bauer of sexually assaulting her, and Major League Baseball placed him on administrative leave when the allegations became public in July 2021. He spent the remainder of that season on paid administrative leave by mutual agreement between MLB and the MLB Players Association while The league conducts an investigation. Two Ohio women later came forward with allegations that Bauer had assaulted them in previous years.

The California woman filed a long-term restraining order against Bauer. A judge denied this request in August 2021, finding that it did not pose a continuing threat to her safety. Bauer never faced criminal charges, as the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office refused to move forward with a criminal case after their investigation. “After a thorough review of the available evidence, including civil restraining order procedures, witness statements and physical evidence, the people are unable to prove the relevant charges beyond a reasonable doubt.The DA’s office said at the time.

Even when there are no criminal charges, MLB is allowed to impose discipline if its investigation finds that a player has violated the Common Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Child Abuse Policy. The league did just that in April, imposing a 324-game ban that took effect from the date of the suspension. This would have kept Bauer out for the entirety of the 2022-23 seasons (and a few weeks in 2024); Bauer immediately appealed, becoming the first player to appeal a domestic violence suspension.

The appeals process has been completed for the past eight months. According to the terms of the policy, the panel consisted of three individuals – one selected by the league, one selected by the players association, and one independent arbitrator approved by both parties.

As the league’s statement indicates, the commission found that Bauer violated its domestic violence policy. Lost time from the second half of 2021 and the entire 22 campaign has been stuck. Bauer did not get paid during the 2022 season after the suspension was announced and will forfeit his salary for that season. He will also forfeit his salary for the first 50 games of next season, as this represents a retroactive payment of the salary he earned while not playing during his administrative leave from July 2021 to April 2022.

However, the committee also decided MLB’s suspension was excessive and suspended the 130-game ban. Depending on how many games he has already missed, he will be eligible to return to the field at the next season opener.

Bauer was on the restricted list and had not counted on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster since his first arrival on administrative leave. Bill Schicken from the Los Angeles Times Tweets The team will have until January 6 to either reinstate him or release him. Bob Nightingale from USA Today Tweets The Dodgers are expected to release Bauer, though the team has not yet commented on the matter.

Even if the Dodgers cut Power, it’s a meaningful development for the organization from a financial perspective. Los Angeles will owe him a 2023 salary whether they keep him on the roster or not. They won’t have to pay him for the first 50 games of the season, but they’ll keep him on the hook for the rest of his $32 million salary. He will still be owed approximately $22.12 million after factoring in his salary. Perhaps most tellingly, that money is now back in the Dodgers’ deluxe tax ledger for the 2023 campaign. According to the calculation by Roster Resource, Los Angeles’ CBT figure jumps to about $232 million. That’s just $1 million less than next year’s base tax threshold of $233 million.

Reports in recent weeks have indicated that the Dodgers have been reluctant to spend aggressively this winter, in part because of a desire to maintain flexibility below the CBT threshold should Power’s suspension be lowered. With that in effect, they will have virtually no financial breathing room without spending paychecks unless they are willing to pay the luxury tax for the third consecutive season.