Major League Baseball suspended Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer a total of 324 games -- effectively two full seasons -- without pay on Friday for violating the league's domestic violence policy.
The ban is effective immediately and would last into the 2024 season.
While the Commissioner's Office did not issue any additional statements upon concluding its investigation into allegations made against Bauer, the pitcher immediately took to social media to announce his intention to appeal the decision.
"In the strongest possible terms, I deny committing any violation of the league's domestic violence & sexual assault policy," Bauer wrote on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR). "I am appealing this action and expect to prevail. As we have throughout this process, my representatives & I respect the confidentiality of the proceedings."
Bauer, 31, was due to earn $32 million this year and in 2023 as part of a three-year, $102 million deal signed prior to the 2021 season.
Bauer is suing the woman who accused him of sexual assault, contending her motive was to destroy his "reputation and baseball career, garner attention for herself, and extract millions of dollars" from him.
The suit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and is seeking unspecified monetary and punitive damages. Bauer contends the woman "fabricated allegations of sexual assault" and "made false and malicious statements" as she sought a domestic violence restraining order last June 29.
That filing came a day after Bauer's most recent pitching performance for the Dodgers, with whom he signed a three-year, $102 million contract before the 2021 season. He has been on Major League Baseball administrative leave since July 2, although the Los Angeles County district attorney declined to file charges.
The court filing describes, in graphic detail, the two sexual encounters between Bauer and the woman, who lives in San Diego, that occurred last spring. Per company policy, Field Level Media will not publish the name of alleged victims of sexual assault.
The Dodgers issued the following statement upon learning of the commissioner's decision regarding discipline for Bauer:
"The Dodgers organization takes all allegations of this nature very seriously and does not condone or excuse any acts of domestic violence or sexual assault. We've cooperated fully with MLB's investigation since it began, and we fully support MLB's Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Child Abuse Policy, and the Commissioner's enforcement of the Policy. We understand that Trevor has the right to appeal the Commissioner's decision. Therefore, we will not comment further until the process is complete."
Bauer made just 17 starts last season and pitched 107 2/3 innings to begin his stint with the Dodgers. He was 8-5 with a 2.59 ERA and received his full base salary of $28 million in 2021.
An All-Star in 2018 and National League Cy Young Award winner in 2020, Bauer owns an 83-69 record with a 3.79 ERA in 222 career appearances (212 starts) with the Arizona Diamondbacks, then-Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds and Dodgers.
--Field Level Media