Trevor Bauer Vows To Appeal Historic Suspension; Next Up Would Be Arbitration Hearing

Former Yankee Alex Rodriguez had already received his record 211-game doping suspension from then baseball commissioner Bud Selig in early August 2013 when the Yankees third baseman retained defense attorney Joe Tacopina.

After Rodriguez vowed to fight the punishment — which came as a result of his association with Anthony Bosch and the Biogenesis performance-enhancing drug scandal — one of Tacopina’s first public remarks came on the “Today” show. Tacopina told then host Matt Lauer in blunt terms what he thought about MLB’s case against his client.

“I know the evidence against Alex Rodriguez,” Tacopina said during the August 19, 2013 interview. “I will tell you this. It will never stand up in a court of law or in an arbitration panel courtroom. Never.”

Tacopina was one of a group of lawyers, along with counsel from the Players Association, who represented Rodriguez during his bruising arbitration battle later that fall, a hearing that played out over two months. But ultimately, Tacopina’s prediction proved way off the mark: although an independent arbitrator did reduce A-Rod’s ban, the former Yankee still sat out the entire 2014 season and forfeited about $25 million in salary.

Nearly a decade after Tacopina was a constant presence at MLB’s Park Avenue offices, not to mention in the news headlines, the attorney is once again connected to a MLB player grievance and an impending arbitration hearing. This time around, however, Tacopina could potentially be an ally of current baseball commissioner Rob Manfred rather than a contentious opponent.

The same day that Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer vowed to appeal his record 324-game suspension for violating the Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy, a new Bauer accuser was identified in a Washington Post report. Tacopina, according to the report, is representing the female accuser.

The Post report said the accuser, a Columbus, Ohio woman, had “shared her allegations with MLB,” during its investigation of Bauer. The report also said the Columbus woman “is willing to testify in” any arbitration hearing.

Tacopina declined further comment for this story when reached by email.

Washington PostAs MLB suspends Trevor Bauer, a new accuser speaks out

Bauer, 31, is the first of over a dozen MLB players disciplined under the joint policy to appeal his punishment, and independent arbitrator Martin Scheinman would ultimately decide Bauer’s fate once the arbitration process begins. Baseball sources said a hearing would most likely take place this year, and possibly as early as next month.

Bauer had been on paid administrative leave since last July 2 after a San Diego woman accused him of sexual assault in a declaration attached to a request for a temporary restraining order.

Although that woman was granted the ex parte domestic violence restraining order (DVRO) last June 29, she was later denied a permanent restraining order against Bauer after a four-day August hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court. At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman also dissolved the temporary restraining order, and the judge said in her ruling that the San Diego woman’s original declaration was “materially misleading.” Around the same time as the hearing, the Post published a report about a different Ohio woman who made similar allegations against Bauer.

In early February 2022, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office declined to press charges against Bauer after prosecutors from that office conducted a five-month review of the Pasadena Police Department’s investigation of Bauer. The Dodgers pitcher posted a YouTube video after the D.A.’s announcement in which he denied ever punching or sodomizing the San Diego woman, accusations she had made in her original declaration.

“While we did have consensual rough sex, the disturbing acts and conduct that she described simply did not occur,” Bauer said in the video. He later filed a lawsuit against the San Diego woman and one of her lawyers in California federal court. Bauer has also sued two media outlets for defamation — Deadspin and The Athletic.

But while Bauer’s criminal matter closed, MLB’s separate investigation of the Dodgers pitcher resulted in Manfred leveling the two-year suspension. The Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy — implemented in 2015 and which was collectively-bargained between the union and the league — gives the commissioner authority to suspend players the league determines have violated the policy’s terms, even if the player is not charged or convicted in a court of law.

“The Commissioner may discipline a Player who commits a Covered Act for just cause,” reads a portion of the policy within the Basic Agreement.

“In the strongest possible terms, I deny committing any violation of the league’s domestic violence & sexual assault policy,” Bauer tweeted after the suspension was announced. “I am appealing this action and expect to prevail. As we have throughout this process, my representatives & I respect the confidentiality of the proceedings.”

Bauer’s representatives have declined further comment on the appeal process, as has the Players Association. MLB declined further comment after the suspension was announced.

Unlike in Rodriguez’s case, where he was able to take the field for the Yankees during the 2013 season after he appealed, Bauer cannot pitch while his grievance process unfolds. The Yankees failed to make the 2013 postseason, and Rodriguez’s arbitration began September 30 that year, and lasted through November.

Once Bauer’s arbitration hearing begins, it would be the burden of MLB to demonstrate that a two-year suspension is warranted based upon the evidence the league gathered and witness testimony. Some of the allegations made by the Columbus woman that appear in the Post report — including a text message to her in which Bauer allegedly wrote, “I want to f—- you while you’re completely unconscious.” — are alleged incidents that took place in 2013 and 2014, before the joint policy was implemented.

“Mr. Bauer unequivocally denies the false and defamatory allegations made in The Washington Post,” Bauer’s representatives said in a statement. Separately, Bauer said in part of the Post report: “As it relates to the Columbus woman, we had a casual and wholly consensual sexual relationship from 2013-2018 that began during my time with Triple-A Columbus Clippers.”

Bauer also said the Columbus woman has continued to contact him through last year, and has sent Bauer “139 sexually explicit photos and videos” since 2019. Although Bauer didn’t identify Tacopina by name, the pitcher said the Columbus woman’s attorney “attempted to solicit a financial settlement on October 19, 2021 in exchange for resolving her “issue” and not to speak with MLB. I refuse to be extorted and declined.”

In terms of an outcome for Bauer, Scheinman could uphold the discipline, overturn Manfred’s decision or reduce the ban. If the suspension is upheld, Bauer’s ban would last beyond the length of his Dodgers’ contract and he would stand to lose about $60 million in salary.

Bauer signed with the Dodgers before the 2021 season for three years and $102 million.