In Background Of Baseball Labor Dispute, Trevor Bauer Still Has Two Matters That Are Unresolved

Former Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer, dressed in a dark suit and tie, stood solemnly next to his two attorneys last August 19 outside a Los Angeles courthouse while one of his counsel, Shawn Holley, made a statement on the pitcher’s behalf.

“We are grateful to the Los Angeles Superior Court for denying the request for a permanent restraining order and dissolving the temporary restraining order against Mr. Bauer today,” Holley said then, while flanked by Bauer and attorney Jon Fetterolf. “We have expected this outcome since the petition was filed in June. But we appreciate the court reviewing all the relevant information and testimony to make this informed decision.”

Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman’s ruling, which Holley alluded to, came after the conclusion of a four-day hearing on a temporary restraining order against Bauer a San Diego woman had been granted in June 2021. The woman had accused Bauer of sexual assault in a declaration attached to her original request for the temporary “ex parte” domestic violence restraining order (DVRO), and the allegations included Bauer choking the woman to the point of unconsciousness during two separate sexual encounters at Bauer’s Pasadena home and him punching her in the face during sex.

She also claimed in her declaration that she was hospitalized for some of her injuries which she alleged were a result of the encounters with Bauer.

Gould-Saltman, however, said in her ruling that the San Diego woman’s “initial declaration… was materially misleading.” And Fetterolf, Bauer’s attorney and agent, had previously said in a June 29, 2021 statement that Bauer had a “brief and wholly consensual sexual relationship initiated by” the San Diego woman. Bauer did not testify during the restraining order hearing.

But while that legal matter concluded in Bauer’s favor, the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, five months later, still awaits the outcome of two separate matters stemming from the sexual assault allegations leveled against him: the L.A. County District Attorney’s office is still reviewing his criminal case and Major League Baseball’s investigation of Bauer, launched last year, is ongoing.

“That is correct. (The Bauer case) remains under review,” a spokesman for the L.A. District Attorney’s office said in an email this week. Multiple baseball sources confirmed that the league’s investigation of Bauer remains open. To date, Bauer has never been arrested nor charged.

Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has the authority to discipline players who the league has deemed to have violated the joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy — first implemented in 2015 — and suspensions can be doled out to a player even if he is never charged or convicted of a crime. According to several baseball insiders, Manfred is likely to wait until the criminal matter is resolved before rendering a decision on Bauer, but numerous baseball sources also believe the pitcher is likely to receive a lengthy suspension. (MLB players can appeal any discipline).

As for the criminal matter, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office received the case from the Pasadena Police Department on August 27, 2021 “after extensive investigation,” according to part of a statement issued by a Pasadena PD spokeswoman last year. The Pasadena PD investigation of Bauer lasted over three months.

Judge Gould-Saltman’s ruling, however, could potentially impact the criminal case and the prosecutors’ decision-making process, according to legal experts.

“A prosecutor’s confidence in their ability to win a case is certainly going to impact their analysis of whether they’re going to ultimately move forward with criminal charges,” said Dan Lust, a sports attorney and New York Law School professor. “No prosecutor wants to lose a case. A certain part of that analysis is going to be how strong the witnesses are – in terms of their ability to stand up on cross-examination, and if people find them to be truthful. 

“The judge (Gould-Saltman) in the (Bauer) civil matter went out of her way to characterize (the accuser’s) testimony as untruthful,” added Lust. “I certainly think that is going to be a factor, that the D.A.’s office might say, ‘Maybe we shouldn’t take this case.’ It’s not the be all/end all, but I think that has to factor in (to the D.A.’s decision).”

Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos agreed that Gould-Saltman’s ruling was a favorable development for Bauer beyond the restraining order matter.

“It’s awfully difficult to bring a criminal case when a Superior Court judge has already ruled on the lower civil standard that there isn’t enough to issue a permanent protective order,” said Geragos.

There are other layers to the criminal matter that present significant challenges for prosecutors, too.

“Absent some type of surveillance, there are really only two people that can speak to the underlying events,” said Lust. “One is Trevor Bauer, who in a criminal case, I imagine, would plead the Fifth and not incriminate himself. The other is the female accuser. After that, every witness is one level removed. If you speak to the attendant that treated her at the hospital, for example, that person is only getting details second-hand. Any friends that she spoke with are only getting it second-hand. The fact that the judge went out of her way to criticize (the accuser’s) veracity and credibility, that’s big.”

Bauer, who signed a three-year, $102 million free-agent deal with the Dodgers before the 2021 season, last pitched in the majors on June 28. He was placed on paid administrative leave by MLB, a non-disciplinary designation, starting July 2, 2021 and the administrative leave was extended numerous times over the course of last season. His 2021 salary was approximately $38 million.

The 31-year-old Bauer, meanwhile, has ramped up his social media posts of late, and earlier this week engaged with several Twitter users who referenced the accusations against him.

“What (Bauer) did was wrong and uncalled for,” wrote a Twitter user with the account @MattAdamBenigno. “I agree with that, but he’s still a person and a pitcher for the Dodgers.”

Bauer responded to the tweet: “Only two people in the world know what actually happened. One of them hasn’t spoken about it yet. The other is a proven habitual liar that was deemed by a judge to have misled the court. Maybe think twice before deciding what was “wrong” and “uncalled for”.”