Trevor Bauer’s Legal Battles Continue While Pitcher Resumes Career In Japan

After serving the longest suspension in the history of Major League Baseball’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy — first implemented in 2015 — pitcher Trevor Bauer embarked on a new professional path earlier this year, signing with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in the Japanese Central League after the Los Angeles Dodgers released him.

But despite playing in a different country halfway around the globe, Bauer’s legal entanglements persist in the U.S., where new sexual assault allegations have been leveled against Bauer by an Arizona woman in a civil claim filed in Arizona Superior Court.

Bauer, 32, has denied the latest accusations in court documents and in a public statement through his representatives, and he has filed a counterclaim against the female accuser.

While that matter plays out in court, Bauer also remains in a legal battle with a San Diego woman whose 2021 sexual assault allegations against the pitcher sparked two separate investigations — a criminal probe by the Pasadena (Calif.) Police Department which ended with no charges being filed against Bauer; and a MLB investigation which resulted in baseball commissioner Rob Manfred handing the pitcher a historic 324-game suspension. Bauer appealed the punishment and an independent arbitrator later reduced the ban to 194 games.

Most recently, the pitcher filed a motion in California federal court that requests sanctions against the San Diego woman — including dismissal of her civil counterclaim — for alleged witness tampering on multiple occasions. Bauer sued the San Diego woman last year for defamation and tortious interference, and she filed a counterclaim (also last year) alleging Bauer committed battery and sexual battery.

USA TODAYTrevor Bauer faces another sexual assault allegation, which he denies

A USA Today Sports report published earlier this month first detailed the Arizona woman’s allegations. She claims in an amended complaint — filed in Superior Court in Maricopa County (Ariz.) — that during a December 2020 sexual encounter at Bauer’s Arizona residence, he “began to choke her out” during sex, that he “violently sexually assaulted” her, and that she “became pregnant as a result of the sexual assault.” The woman also claims Bauer held a knife to her throat on a separate occasion at Bauer’s residence, also in December 2020.

Bauer’s counterclaim states that he and the Arizona woman “had a single, consensual sexual encounter in December 2020.” Bauer’s representatives — co-agents Jon Fetterolf and Rachel Luba — responded to the USA Today report with a lengthy statement that said in part, “Her claims are untethered to reality and change as often as she changes lawyers.” The reps also blasted the outlet and said USA Today’s “reporting is as reckless as the fraudulent claims of this woman.”

“Trevor Bauer categorically denies this woman’s unhinged allegations. She has made four documented multi-million-dollar extortion demands over the last two years, which prompted Mr. Bauer to file a criminal complaint against her. He is also actively suing her for fraud,” Fetterolf and Luba said in their statement.

Bauer’s reps said the Arizona woman first “sought money to terminate an alleged pregnancy, then she claimed – among other things – that she was distressed from having an abortion, and now her newest claim suggests for the first time that she had a miscarriage.” They also said “multiple news organizations — recognized how ridiculous her claims are and declined to publish these obviously false and defamatory allegations.”

The Arizona woman’s attorneys did not respond to a request for comment. Bryan Freedman, the attorney for the San Diego woman, also did not respond to a request for comment.

Before the 2021 MLB season, Bauer signed a three-year, $102 million contract with the Dodgers. Bauer won the 2020 Cy Young Award while a member of the Cincinnati Reds. But he only made 17 starts with the Dodgers before the San Diego woman’s allegations became public in a request for a temporary domestic violence restraining order (DVRO).

After the San Diego woman made sexual assault allegations against Bauer in a declaration attached to the DVRO request — which was granted — he was placed on paid administrative leave by MLB, a non-disciplinary procedure. The leave was extended multiple times throughout 2021, and Bauer never pitched for the Dodgers the rest of that season.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled in August 2021 after a four-day hearing that the San Diego woman’s claims in her original declaration were “materially misleading,” and the same judge both denied the woman’s request for a permanent restraining order against Bauer and dissolved the temporary DVRO. In early 2022, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office declined to pursue criminal charges against Bauer. The pitcher released a YouTube video that same day.

“I’d like to set the record straight on what actually happened. I had consensual sex with this (San Diego) woman on two occasions at my residence in Pasadena, during which we engaged in rough sex,” Bauer said in the video.

But after MLB concluded its investigation of Bauer, Manfred suspended him the equivalent of two full MLB seasons. The commissioner has the authority to discipline players in violation of the collectively-bargained policy, even if they have not been arrested, charged or convicted of a crime in court. Bauer didn’t pitch in the majors all of 2022.

Although the MLB ban was later reduced to 194 games after Bauer appealed, the Dodgers decided to cut ties with him. The club ate the remainder of his contract, approximately $22.5 million.

In addition to Bauer filing the defamation lawsuit against the San Diego woman and one of her former attorneys, Fred Thiagarajah, he filed two separate defamation suits against Deadspin and The Athletic last year.

A federal judge dismissed — with prejudice — Bauer’s suit against G/O Media, the parent company of Deadspin, and one of the outlet’s editors. Bauer appealed the decision, but according to an attorney representing G/O Media, the appeal has been voluntarily dismissed.

The defamation claim against Thiagarajah was also dismissed by a federal judge, although his name still appears as a defendant in the litigation against the San Diego woman.

The New York Times, which owns The Athletic, moved to dismiss Bauer’s amended complaint, and a ruling is still pending, according to court documents.

A hearing for the motion for sanctions against the San Diego woman is scheduled for July 24.

“The Court should dismiss (the San Diego woman’s) counterclaims for her serious, flagrant, and grave abuses of this proceeding,” reads the Bauer motion. “She has tampered with multiple witnesses through intimidation, threats, and improper influence. She has instructed one witness to lie to Bauer’s counsel and ignore a subpoena while trying to cover up her wrongdoing by deleting evidence of her misconduct. These acts undermine the integrity of the proceeding and require dismissal.”