Bauer faces Dodgers prospects in exhibition game
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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Trevor Bauer‘s first time facing stateside professional hitters in nearly three years occurred on a backfield of the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ minor league complex Sunday afternoon while pitching for a barnstorming, pay-to-play team called the Asian Breeze.
Bauer, once handed the longest suspension in the history of Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy, pitched three scoreless innings against a lineup of Dodgers minor leaguers, some of them well-regarded prospects.
Later, Bauer, 33, lamented not getting another opportunity in the major leagues.
“I mean, if you think about it, I should have the opportunity to sign with a big league team,” Bauer told a scrum of media members shortly after his outing. “I’m just asking for the league minimum, so it’s not a money thing. I’ve served my suspension twice over. I’ve been cleared of everything in the legal system. If you think about it logically, there’s really no reason I shouldn’t have a job. But I don’t. So it is what it is. We’ll see how it plays out. I don’t want to predict the future. We’ll see.”
MLB handed Bauer an unprecedented 324-game suspension in April 2022, nearly 10 months after he was first placed on administrative leave over sexual assault allegations. An independent arbitrator, retained by both MLB and the MLB Players Association, reduced Bauer’s suspension to 194 games near the end of that year, prompting his eventual release from the Dodgers.
Bauer spent the 2023 season pitching for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in Japan after receiving no interest from major league teams. He has publicly pined for another opportunity on several platforms this offseason, saying he would be willing to pitch for the major league minimum. Teams have thus far passed on him again.
Bauer’s latest venture came with a tryout team made up of mostly amateur players hoping to be seen in front of scouts.
It’s as close as Bauer has been to major league action in nearly 33 months.
More than a hundred fans packed a small set of bleachers and stood against the backstop as Bauer faced a Dodgers lineup sprinkled with prominent prospects, such as Andy Pages, Diego Cartaya and Hunter Feduccia. At least a handful of the fans were wearing Bauer jerseys and “Bring Bauer Back” T-shirts.
There did not appear to be any major league scouts present, but many of the fans cheered Bauer as he recorded four strikeouts against 12 batters. The biggest cheer came after his last out, when he accepted pitch suggestions from a nearby fan and retired Feduccia on a comebacker.
Bauer said the Asian Breeze recently reached out to him because the team needed pitching, and he agreed to participate. He was originally supposed to pitch Saturday in a game at the Arizona Diamondbacks‘ complex.
“I guess that got pushed back,” said Bauer, currently scheduled to pitch only one game for the Breeze. “It ended up being here.”
The Dodgers canceled Bauer’s bobblehead giveaway and stopped selling his merchandise less than a month after assault allegations were made public and have completely disassociated themselves from him in the wake of his release, cutting ties in 2023 despite owing him a remaining $22.5 million on his deal. But the team did not attempt to cancel the Asian Breeze game despite his presence at its facility, fearful that doing so would only draw more attention to it, sources said.
A source close to Bauer said he cleared it with Dodgers leaders and was told they didn’t have an issue.
“I don’t really care who I pitch against, honestly,” Bauer said when asked how it felt to face a Dodgers-affiliated team. “I just like to pitch. Hopefully, they enjoyed it and had a good time. I tried to enjoy it and have a good time, tried to entertain the fans, which is what I always try to do. Dodgers or any other team, it doesn’t really matter. I just enjoy pitching.”
Bauer signed a three-year, $102 million contract with the Dodgers in February 2021 but didn’t pitch beyond June of that year, after a San Diego woman obtained a temporary restraining order and accused him of sexually assaulting her. Bauer continually claimed his innocence and obtained two legal victories along the way, first when a Los Angeles judge denied the woman’s request for a permanent restraining order and later when the district attorney’s office declined to file criminal charges.
In October 2023, Bauer posted a nearly four-minute YouTube clip in which he rereleased a selfie video from the woman that showed her lying next to him in bed “smirking at the camera without … any mark on her face,” along with text messages that, according to Bauer, show she attempted to extort him.
The video, however, was not new. It was reviewed extensively by the independent arbitrator who ultimately chose to uphold the majority of Bauer’s unprecedented suspension, The Washington Post reported. Three other women have publicly made similar sexual assault allegations against Bauer, two through The Post and another through an amended complaint filed in June 2023. Bauer has also denied wrongdoing in those cases.
Details of MLB’s investigation and the subsequent arbitration process have not been made public. The domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy, in place since August 2015, stipulates that the details of an investigation not be disclosed, not even to the team that employs the player. The Dodgers theoretically released Bauer without knowing the extent of the allegations against him, outside of what had been made public from both sides.
Bauer — a first-round draft pick in 2011, an All-Star in 2018 and the National League Cy Young Award winner for the COVID-19-shortened season in 2020 — said he “just wanted to come out and have some fun playing baseball.” He noted that he set a personal high for velocity in Japan last year and has since added a splitter.
“I’m a better pitcher than I was last time people here saw me,” he said. “Hopefully, today reminded them that I’m still an elite pitcher. If not, that’s fine, too.”
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Daniel Oyefusi
FRISCO, Texas — Former Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders said Saturday he is unsure if he will throw at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis next month.
Sanders is attending the East-West Shrine Bowl but will not participate in practice or in the game Thursday. He was at the West team’s first practice at the University of North Texas on Saturday morning but stood on the field, watching the other prospects.
While Sanders won’t conduct any on-field work at the Shrine Bowl, he reiterated his belief that he’s worthy of being the top pick in the 2025 NFL draft. He has been training in the Dallas area with former Miami‘s Cam Ward, another top quarterback prospect in this year’s draft.
“We changed the program at Jackson [State University],” Sanders said. “We went to Colorado, changed the program. And we did everything people didn’t think we were able to do. So, that’s why I know I’m the most guaranteed risk you can take.”
Sanders met with multiple teams Friday, including the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and New York Giants, who hold the first three picks in the draft, respectively. The Titans met with Sanders for 45 minutes.
“I like that I’m able to get in the forefront of everything and they’re able to understand me and ask me whatever questions they want,” Sanders said. “I’m not ducking. I ain’t hiding. I’m right here, live in the flesh and able to answer whatever questions are out there.”
While Sanders is confident in his worthiness as the first overall pick, he said he would be “thankful for whatever situation and whoever drafts me. I know I’ll be able to change their program.”
Asked what he will bring to a team, Sanders smiled and said, “A lot of wins.”
Shedeur’s older brother Shilo, a safety, is also in Texas for the game. Colorado is also represented by wide receivers Will Sheppard, LaJohntay Wester, Jimmy Horn Jr. and cornerback Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig.
ESPN’s Turron Davenport contributed to this report.
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Jorge Castillo
NEW YORK — The New York Mets held their first winter event for fans in five years at Citi Field on Saturday, and there was one notable absence. Pete Alonso wasn’t in attendance because, for the first time since the 2016 draft, he isn’t a member of the Mets’ organization.
The homegrown star first baseman remains a free agent and, though a reunion remains possible, he might have played his last game as a Met.
Owner Steve Cohen bluntly said as much Saturday after taking the stage for a fireside chat with fans to chants of “We want Pete!”
“Personally, this has been an exhausting conversation and negotiation,” Cohen explained. “I mean, [Juan Soto’s negotiation] was tough. This is worse. A lot of it is, we’ve made a significant offer. I don’t like the structures that are being presented back to us. I think it’s highly asymmetric against us and I feel strongly about it.”
Alonso, along with third baseman Alex Bregman, is one of the two best position players left on the free agent market. The first baseman, who is represented by Scott Boras, originally sought a long-term deal, but he is open to returning to the Mets on a three-year contract and the Mets have been open to such a deal, according to a source. The obstacle has been money.
“I will never say no,” Cohen said. “There’s always the possibility. But the reality is we’re moving forward and we continue to bring in players. As we continue to bring in players, the reality is it becomes harder to fit Pete into what is a very expensive group of players that we already have and that’s where we are.
“I’m being brutally honest. I don’t like the negotiations. I don’t like what’s being presented to us. Maybe that changes. I’ll always stay flexible. But if it stays this way, I think we’re going to have to get used to the fact that we may have to go forward with the existing players that we have.”
The Mets recently re-signed outfielder/designated hitter Jesse Winker to a one-year, $7.5 million contract and added left-handed reliever A.J. Minter on a two-year, $22 million deal. They’ve also signed Soto (15 years, $765 million), Sean Manaea (three years, $75 million), Clay Holmes (three years, $38 million), and Frankie Montas (two years, $34 million), among other moves, this winter.
Preparing for life without Alonso, the Mets recently instructed third basemen Mark Vientos and Brett Baty to work out at first base. Vientos and Baty both confirmed the organization’s request Saturday.
“We all love Pete, and we’ve said that many times,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said. “And I think, as we’ve gone through this process, we’ve continued to express that. We also understand that this is a business and Pete, as a free agent, deserves the right and has the right and earned the privilege, really, to see what’s out there. We also feel really good about the young players who are coming through our system who have the ability to play at the major-league level.”
Vientos, 25, enjoyed a breakout season as one of the best hitters in the National League after solidifying himself as the Mets’ every-day third baseman in May and helping fuel the team’s run to the NL Championship Series. Baty, a former top prospect, was the club’s opening day third baseman last season. He struggled after a hot start before he was demoted to Triple-A and didn’t return to the majors.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza also named veterans Jared Young and Joey Meneses, both of whom signed this winter, as other options at first base if Alonso doesn’t return.
“Pete’s been here since I’ve been here,” said Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, who has starred for the franchise since 2021. “He was here before me. So, yeah, it would be different if he goes somewhere else. Yeah, it would be different. But I think he should take his time. I think he should make the best decision for himself and not feel that he’s rushed.”
Alonso, 30, became a fan favorite while becoming a franchise cornerstone over his six seasons in Queens. He’s hit 226 home runs since making his major-league debut — the second-highest total in baseball behind only Aaron Judge. His 53 home runs in 2019 set a rookie record. He’s been a reliable everyday presence; he’s never missed more than nine games in a season and played in all 178 games, postseason included, in 2024. He’s made four All-Star teams and won the Home Run Derby twice.
But he rates as a poor defender and baserunner whose offensive production has declined over the last three seasons, creating a free-agent market that hasn’t been as fruitful as projected when he declined a seven-year, $158 million contract extension in 2023.
“Listen, he’s a special player,” Hall of Famer and former Mets catcher Mike Piazza said Saturday. “Guys that can hit 40 home runs are not walking on the street. So when he’s really in his game, he’s a special player. I hope, from a personal standpoint, I hope they work something out.”
Outfielder Brandon Nimmo, the longest-tenured player on the roster after debuting in 2016, signed an eight-year, $162 million contract to remain with the Mets two offseasons ago. Like Alonso, Boras is his agent. Unlike Alonso, he reached a resolution in December, not with spring training around the corner.
“I would love to see Pete back with us, but I also understand that I don’t make those decisions,” Nimmo said. “And that’s between Pete and our front office and David [Stearns] and Steve [Cohen]. And from what I understand, there’s been a lot of talks between them. I’m still hopeful that we’ll sign him.”
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