Dave Roberts says he expects Trevor Bauer to make his next start on Sunday
WASHINGTON — Trevor Bauer went about his business as normal Thursday afternoon.
He emerged from the visiting clubhouse at a muggy Nationals Park in shorts holding his camera in one hand and glove in another. He played long toss with Kenley Jansen in left field. He spent some time in the bullpen.
Then he walked back to the Dodgers’ dugout down the third-base line and did something unusual. He declined to talk. Bauer pointed to the dugout, indicating he had to leave, when approached by a reporter, opting not to speak publicly for the first time since a woman accused the pitcher of assault in a temporary restraining order filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer has been accused of assault by a woman who filed a restraining order that includes graphic details and photos.
As it stands, things will proceed as usual Sunday, too, when Bauer is scheduled to make his next start in the Dodgers’ series finale against the Washington Nationals. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Thursday that he expects Bauer to pitch in the game on the Fourth of July.
Roberts said he spoke with Bauer after the allegations surfaced. He declined to share any details of the conversation. Roberts said the situation was “out of our hands” while Major League Baseball investigates the allegations. When asked if he considered not starting Bauer to avoid the potential distraction, Roberts said he’s acting under MLB’s direction.
“I’m in position of following the lead of Major League Baseball,” Roberts said in a videoconference call with reporters at Nationals Park. “Their recommendation was for us to … he was our scheduled [starter] Sunday, and to move forward and start that game on Sunday. And so for me to try to read into it anymore outside of what they advised me and us to do, I just choose to follow their lead.”
The woman accused Bauer of non-consensual sex on two occasions three weeks apart — one in April and one in May — in Bauer’s Pasadena home. She wrote she was choked and lost consciousness both times, and that she was hit in the face during the second encounter.
“I agreed to have consensual sex, however, I did not agree or consent to what he did next,” the woman wrote in the court declaration. “I did not agree to be sexually assaulted.”
Jon Fetterolf, one of Bauer’s agents, issued a statement Tuesday saying Bauer denies the claims. Bauer’s representatives provided The Los Angeles Times with text messages from May 9, between the woman’s two visits to Bauer’s home.
The Times has not authenticated the texts cited by Bauer’s representation or by the woman in the restraining order request.
Pasadena police are investigating Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer over a woman’s allegation that he assaulted her. Bauer’s agent called the accusations “baseless” and “defamatory.”
According to the texts shared by Bauer’s representatives, the woman told Bauer that she “had never been more turned on in my life” getting choked by him. “Gimme all the pain. Rawr.”
“Her basis for filing a protection order is nonexistent, fraudulent, and deliberately omits key facts, information, and her own relevant communications,” part of Fetterolf’s statement read. “Any allegations that the pair’s encounters were not 100% consensual are baseless, defamatory, and will be refuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The woman’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, said: “Any suggestion that she was not the victim of assault is not only false and defamatory but, in fact, perpetuates the abuse.”
The temporary restraining order was granted Tuesday. A hearing to determine the validity of the order in civil court is scheduled for July 23. The hearing is unrelated to the criminal investigation. Charges have not been filed.
MLB commenced an investigation Tuesday night once the allegations emerged in a TMZ report. The league has the option to place Bauer on paid administrative leave for up to seven days. An extension of the leave would require the players’ union’s approval.
A player can be suspended without being charged with a crime under MLB’s domestic violence policy. The policy was collectively bargained. Teams cannot enforce discipline unless the league approves, but they can keep players from appearing in games. The Dodgers could choose that route and not have Bauer pitch Sunday. As of Thursday, that wasn’t the plan.
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