Trevor Bauer is reinstated after his suspension was reduced

Trevor Bauer’s initial 324-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy was reduced to 194 games by an arbitrator, the league announced Thursday, ending a seven-month grievance process and bringing some clarity. to a saga that has been unfolding for the past year and a half.

Bauer had served just 144 games of his suspension, but referee Martin Scheinman ruled that he is eligible for immediate reinstatement, essentially giving him credit for the time he was on MLB’s restricted list in the second half of the 2021 season.

However, Bauer will have his pay from the Los Angeles Dodgers deducted for the first 50 games of the 2023 season to make up the difference.

The Dodgers have 14 days to decide whether to reinstate him to their 40-player roster. Bauer is under contract with the Dodgers for just one more season, in a deal that initially called for him to be paid $32 million.

“We have just been informed of the referee’s ruling and will comment as soon as possible,” the team said in a statement.

Bauer, the 31-year-old former Cy Young Award winner, has been facing allegations of sexual assault since June 2021, most notably by a San Diego woman who obtained a temporary restraining order against him.

Bauer refuted their accusations and remains in litigation with the woman. Two other women made similar assault allegations to the Washington Post, which Bauer and her legal team have also refuted.

The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute Bauer in February, but MLB suspended him for 324 games on April 30, twice as long as the previous longest suspension under its policy. Bauer later became the first player to appeal.

“While we believe a longer suspension was warranted, MLB will abide by the neutral arbitrator’s decision, which upholds the longest active suspension in baseball history for sexual assault or domestic violence,” MLB wrote in its statement Thursday.

“We understand this process was difficult for the witnesses involved and we thank you for your participation. Due to the joint program’s collectively negotiated confidentiality provisions, we are unable to provide further details at this time.”

Bauer joined the Dodgers in February 2021 on a three-year, $102 million deal that included two opt-outs, but he hasn’t pitched since June 28 of his first year.

The following day, a then-27-year-old San Diego woman filed a domestic violence restraining order (DVRO) request alleging that Bauer assaulted her over the course of two sexual encounters at her Pasadena, California, home in April and May of that year.

The woman, whom ESPN has chosen not to name, alleged that he strangled her unconscious multiple times, repeatedly scratched and punched her all over her body, sodomized her without consent and left her with injuries that warranted a trip to the courtroom. emergencies after rough sex Bauer and his attorneys, Jon Fetterolf and Rachel Luba, denied the allegations, calling them “fraudulent” and “unsubstantiated” in an opening statement.