:quality(85)//cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/O6QXZPDWCCEWKAY4BYD2U4V4MU.jpg "Trevor Bauer signs with Yokohama BayStars of Japan 1")
TOKYO (AP) — Trevor Bauer has agreed to sign with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Japan’s Central League.
The 2020 Cy Young Award winner was released by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Jan. 12, three weeks after a mediating judge reduced commissioner Rob Manfred’s suspension from 324 games to 194 games. The penalty was granted after a domestic violence investigation, which the pitcher denied.
“Playing in NPB has always been a dream of mine and I couldn’t think of a better organization to do it,” Bauer said in a statement Monday referring to Nippon Professional Baseball.
The BayStar reported that Bauer will wear number 96.
“To all the BayStar fans – I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to be part of a great team that we will have this year and try to bring the championship back,” Bauer said. “And to all the baseball fans out there – I look forward to seeing you at the stadium soon.”
Bauer is yet to receive $22.5 million on the remainder of his three-year, $102 million contract with the Dodgers. The suspension cost him around 37.6 million in salary.
Manfred suspended Bauer in April last year for violating league domestic violence rules and sexual assault policies after a San Diego woman accused him of beating and assaulting her sexually in 2021. Bauer insists he committed no crime and said the relationship between him and the woman was consensual.
Bauer was never charged with any crime.
The players’ association filed a lawsuit on Bauer’s behalf, and a three-person panel led by Martin Scheinman determined Dec. 22 that Bauer violated MLB policies and suspended his salary for the first 50 games of 2023, in as part of the period during which the launcher was on paid leave in 2021 and 2022.
Bauer joined the Dodgers ahead of the 2021 season and went 8-5 with a 2.59 ERA in 17 starts before being furloughed.
In February 2022, a Los Angeles prosecutor decided not to charge Bauer with allegedly beating and sexually assaulting the woman because they were unable to prove their allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Associated Press does not generally identify people who have been sexually assaulted.
Bauer was an All-Star in 2018 and went 83-69 with a 3.79 ERA in 10 seasons with Arizona (2012), Cleveland (2013-19), Cincinnati (2019-20) and the Dodgers. He took the Cy Young with Cincinnati in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.