Trevor Bauer’s paid administrative leave is extended another week
Trevor Bauer will stay away from the Dodgers through at least Aug. 13, as Major League Baseball and the players’ union agreed Thursday on a fourth extension of his administrative leave.
Bauer remains under investigation for sexual assault. A court hearing on whether to extend or terminate the temporary restraining order against him is scheduled Aug. 16-19.
The woman accusing him is expected to testify for about two hours, according to a court filing from the attorneys representing her.
Upon signing Trevor Bauer, the Dodgers cited a thorough vetting process; now Bauer’s career as a Dodger is in limbo. How a $102-million risk went wrong.
The court files also included an exchange of letters between attorneys that illustrates the acrimony between the parties. In a discussion of the woman’s medical records, Jon Fetterolf, an attorney representing Bauer, wrote: “Considering that [the woman] claims that she was choked unconscious for 30 minutes, the fact that this CT scan of the neck found no injuries is certainly relevant.”
In response, Doreen Marie Olson, an attorney representing the woman, wrote: “[She] is not clear how long she was unconscious, she believes it may have been 30 minutes, but how would she know for sure, she was unconscious? Is this really a point that you want to make? Clearly, your client would be in a far better position to provide this information, and he will no doubt be asked.”
The woman’s attorneys told the court they expected Bauer to testify for about two hours, although Bauer’s attorneys have told the judge they plan to advise him to invoke the 5th Amendment, because any testimony Bauer provides could be used against him in a potential criminal case.
The Pasadena Police Department has been investigating Bauer for felony assault since May 18, when the accuser first met with detectives, according to her request for the restraining order. He has not been arrested or charged with a crime.
The league also is investigating. The MLB domestic violence and sexual assault policy empowers Commissioner Rob Manfred to suspend Bauer without pay, even if he is not charged with a crime.
Bauer, the highest-paid pitcher in the majors this season, continues to receive his salary while on administrative leave. He has not pitched since June 28. The longer he remains on leave, the less likely he could rebuild enough arm strength to return to the Dodgers’ starting rotation this season.
As the Los Angeles Times reported last month, a majority of players do not want Bauer to return. After he won the National League Cy Young Award last year, for his work with the Cincinnati Reds, his hometown Dodgers signed him to a three-year, $102-million contract.
It will cost them a lot of money and could lead to legal action, but the Dodgers can’t wait any longer. They need to get rid of Trevor Bauer immediately.
The woman who sought the restraining order alleged that Bauer had choked her to the point of losing consciousness during two sexual encounters — one in April and one in May — and injured her face during the second one.
The woman provided the court with a report from a hospital exam showing she had suffered “assault by manual strangulation” and “acute head injury.”
Bauer’s representatives have said the pitcher “vehemently denies her account of the two meetings” and that the encounters were “wholly consensual.” Shawn Holley, an attorney representing Bauer, argued in a court filing that, since the woman does not allege she has seen Bauer since May 16 or communicated with him since May 31, the request for the restraining order is “unfounded.”
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