‘Sorry’, the Asian market was not interested in ‘Bad Boy’ either. Will Trevor Bauer be forced to retire?
On January 7, the Los Angeles Dodgers processed Bauer’s designation for transfer (DFA). Bauer, who was on standby for release, failed to find a new team within a week, and was eventually released as a free agent.
However, he is still in ‘FA’ status. Bauer was investigated for assault on a woman in June 2021. Los Angeles prosecutors dismissed the prosecution due to insufficient evidence in February of last year, but the MLB secretariat issued a 324-game suspension after its own investigation. After Bauer appealed, the penalty was reduced to 194 games through arbitration, allowing him to return in the first half of the 2023 season.
However, the Dodgers let go of Bauer even while taking a loss of 22.5 million dollars (approximately 28.3 billion won) in his remaining annual salary. Even if it ended with insufficient evidence, there were two more women who claimed to have been similarly assaulted by Bauer at the time, and their statements were consistent and specific. A situation where public opinion has already turned its back. In addition, there is a rumor that Bauer made the decision to release last month because of disciplinary issues, at a meeting with Dodgers club officials, he did not show any signs of regret or reflection on the assault.
The Dodgers signed a three-year, up to $120 million contract with Bauer ahead of the 2021 season. However, at the time he was playing an active role for the Dodgers, the problem of assault broke out, and he was released while seeing financial damage.
Bauer expressed regret right after the Dodgers’ announcement, but showed a willingness to extend his active career. He expressed his confidence, saying, “Through individual training, I am building my body to the point where I can go on the pitch right away.” 스포츠토토
The problem is that there are still no clubs willing to sign him. At one time, local media in the US speculated that Bauer might be turning to the Asian market. Japanese professional baseball or the KBO league can be an alternative. However, Japanese clubs also showed no interest in recruiting Bauer, who has a strong ‘bad boy’ image, and in fact, most clubs had already completed their plans to recruit foreign players. The same goes for KBO league teams. There was also a ‘rumor’ circulating for a while that the NC Dinos, the only foreign pitcher who had a vacant seat, was bringing Bauer. Each time, the NC club firmly dismissed it, and recently officially announced the recruitment of a new foreign pitcher.
It is possible to sign contracts with other major league clubs, and in fact, there are stories that some teams are interested in Bauer, but the image is extremely bad. Recently, in a media interview, Brian Snitker, coach of the Atlanta Braves, was asked, ‘Do you have any intention of bringing Bauer? . This is the part that most directly shows the evaluation Bauer is receiving in the major leagues.
Bauer, who had been evaluated as having a natural talent as a pitcher despite his many eccentricities and unique words and actions, was now driven to the edge of a cliff.
