Despite jarring allegations revealed last year, Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer will not face criminal charges for sexual assault or battery or the like.
That, per The Athletic and TMZ:
Trevor Bauer will not face any criminal charges in the LA court system, sources tell The Athletic. Bauer's active investigation by MLB remains open.
— Britt Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) February 8, 2022
Trevor Bauer will NOT face any criminal charges for allegedly punching and choking a woman unconscious during sex, TMZ Sports has learned. https://t.co/9RMlUqvsaC
— TMZ (@TMZ) February 8, 2022
Bauer’s season effectively ended at midseason last year, his first with the Dodgers, after assault allegations surfaced and he was placed on administrative leave by the league. Those allegations had been litigated as part of a temporary restraining order request (which was denied), and were further investigated by police and the district attorney’s office in Los Angeles.
With a decision on criminal charges coming down, the question will be on how Major League Baseball proceeds. It has the authority under the joint domestic violence agreement (or it did, at least, until the lockout?) to suspend players regardless of criminal charges. It’s possible Bauer will be deemed to have already served a suspension while on leave (i.e., back-dating the suspension), or it could be a longer suspension from here. Then it will be a question of what the Dodgers do about the final two years on his contract, but it’s very hard to see Bauer ever pitching for them again. And then it will be a question of whether another MLB team signs Bauer despite these allegations and whatever suspension he faces.
That is all to say, although another aspect of this ugly story is now over, the whole thing is still going to eat up some oxygen in the baseball world for a while yet.