Trevor Bauer Gets a Partial Win…

Giants also signed Taylor Rogers to a three-year 33-million-dollar deal. He joins his brother, Tyler in the Giants’ bullpen. Taylor becomes the third lefty in the Giants’ pen joining Scott Alexander and Sam Long. Yankees signed Wilmer Difo to a split contract with a July 1 opt out date.

I’m not saying that I want the Dodgers to DFA him. I’m saying that’s what they’ll do. Anyone think that a current Dodger player will come out in support of him?

Chalk me up for play him if he can regain his pitching form. He was never convicted of a crime and we all knew he was an idiot prior to signing him, make him earn his money. If you are a Dodger fan and Bauer starts winning baseball games, the stigma will pass quickly. We all know you can never have enough pitching.

Bauer contract appears to have a $15 million player opt out and a no trade clause to AL teams.

Not sure on the deadline for opt out provision this year or whether the amount would be adjusted for suspension.

MLB journalists and leftists are calling for immediate release of Bauer or boycott of Dodgers.

It is possible Bauer will opt out and negotiate his own destination. Bauer and his agent may take the decision out of Friedman’s hands. And Friedman should force Bauer to opt out instead of just outright releasing him, since Dodgers obligation would drop from $22.5 million to $15 million. (Just enough room to trade for Brian Reynolds).

Actually, I’m not a big Farhan fan.

The mess with Carlos Correa is a case in point. He’s also the guy who threw in Yordan Alvarez into the Josh Fields deal. Before someone says that Alvarez wasn’t into the system when the trade was made, someone must have thought highly of him, giving him a $2 million signing bonus. His videos and scouting reports were impressive. Why is it that Houston knew all about him and LA didn’t. Didn’t sound like Farhan even knew who he was.

Farhan looked like a genius a couple of years ago, but he got lucky, everything fell into place. The chances of that happening again were very slim. No surprise how the Giants finished this past season.

Yes, he found Max Muncy. But Farhan is more myth than legend.

I like to break things down to the simplest parts possible:

Trevor Bauer was never charged with a crime. His accuser sought but was denied a restraining order against him, and Los Angeles prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to prove the woman’s accusations beyond a reasonable doubt.

Among 15 players previously disciplined under MLB’s Domestic Violence Policy, the longest suspension was a full season and postseason for free agent pitcher Sam Dyson in 2021. None of the players previously disciplined under the policy appear to have challenged the penalty before an arbitrator. They all accepted the penalty.

Bauer’s suspension was the longest of any MLB player since pitcher Jenrry Mejia was given a lifetime ban in 2016 for a third violation of the drug agreement. Mejia was reinstated for 2019 and returned in the minor leagues.

Here’s the full list of suspensions:

In all of the cases, the player either agreed to the facts and suspension or there was clear evidence of the crime. That is not true here. This was a Kangaroo Court. Other cases have involved firing guns and other disturbing behavior. In Bauer’s case, the facts are not clear, BUT WE WILL FIND HIM GUILTY ANYWAY BECAUSE WE DON’T LIKE HIS POLITICS… AND THAT , LADIES AND GENTLEMEN IS EXACTLY WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO.

What was done to Bauer is unprecedented and there is no basis for it whatsoever. It does not pass the smell test!

In 1769 William Blackstone wrote, that “the law holds that it is better that 10 guilty persons escape, than that 1 innocent suffer (innocent person be convicted).” It is presupposed that any ratio presented should not be taken to indicate that it is worse to convict an innocent person than to acquit a guilty one. An interpretation presented as more adequate is one from an 1895 U.S. Supreme Court case which stated, “it is better to let the crime of a guilty person go unpunished than to condemn the innocent.”

Giants, Michael Conforto Agree To Two-Year Deal

By Darragh McDonald | December 23, 2022 at 8:50am CDT

The Giants and outfielder Michael Conforto are in agreement on a two-year, $36MM deal, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Conforto will be able to opt out after the first season, per Buster Olney of ESPN. The deal is pending a physical.

Conforto, 30 in March, was arguably the best upside play remaining on the free agent market based on his excellent run of results from 2017 through 2020. However, it’s not without risk for the Giants, as Conforto had a disappointing season in 2021 and then missed the 2022 season entirely due to shoulder surgery.

As usual, Bill Plaschke wants the Dodgers to publically stone Bauer. It is futile to talk about facts and analysis with someone like Plaschke who is enjoying a sense of moral superiority in his ignorance. He cherrypicks his “facts” and here is s classic example:

“So, if the Dodgers brought back Bauer, they would essentially be rehiring a player who just served the longest sexual assault and domestic violence suspension in the seven-year history of that policy.”

Instead, it should read:

“So, if the Dodgers brought back Bauer, they would essentially be rehiring a player who just served the longest sexual assault and domestic violence suspension in the seven-year history of that policy, with the least amount of evidence ever produced in a sexual assault case. The alleged victim tried to file charges, and the Prosecutor refused. Not only were there no criminal charges, to date, there are no civil charges, but there is substantial evidence that the woman deliberately misled authorities and committed perjury, and we are supposed just ignore that part?”

Plaschke is a wordsmithing dumbass! Public opinion has changed – he is just too narrow-minded to understand it. Talk to random women about it. They have changed their perception as well. The ones who cast the first stones are possibly reacting to and attempting to exorcise their same demons. I call Bullshit on Plaschke and the LA TIMES. I hate Cancel Culture!

Well, it seems that the court of public opinion has already changed here on this site. Not long ago, there were only about 2 people that said he should come back.

I find it a bit callous that people want him run out of town. Don’t people deserve a second chance? Especially when found innocent? How would you like it if someone accused you of doing something you didn’t do and your life was turned upside down and you lost your job because of it? Not a great feeling.

What I don’t see is people insisting that he’ll never pitch again? What happened to that narrative?

Now, I wouldn’t mind of the Dodgers made the decision to keep him, and then traded him for something valuable, like that center fielder we need. But, I would be pretty mad if they just cut him and got nothing in return. I would be more than happy to keep him and make the pitching staff that much stronger.

The entire LA Bauer affair will be closed with a whimper (quietly released). Dodgers will make a statement like, *Trevor Bauer is no longer a member of the Dodger Organization. Next question, please.”

I don’t think the Dodgers want to keep him so it seems to me the best option is to trade him and pay some of his salary – if possible. To negotiate a settlement and let him become a free agent for the Mets, Giants or Padres to pick up is not going to go down well the 47K showing up every game…..

Yep, agree with MT and others who think TB should be brought back. He had weird kinky rough, but consensual sex, with evidence proving the alleged injuries were not present the morning after as the alleged victim slept in his bed.

If there is any local District Attorney looking to charge someone to make a statement and further the “me too” movement it is the George Soros backed LA County DA George Gascon. When the case was presented to them they evaluated and determined no charges would be brought forward. Simply stated, the case did not meet their charging standards and could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Without doing an exhaustive search there are many, many other sex and violence related cases both criminal and morality based where the athlete was accepted back into the fold and not “tossed aside.” Kobe Bryant was to have allegedly raped a hotel clerk, Magic Johnson attained the HIV virus from bedding many, many women, Aroldis Chapman fired a gun inside a garage in a domestic violence episode, Tiger Woods had multiple extra marital affairs, Ben Roethlisberger allegedly had sex with a hotel worker, Deshaun Watson had many happy endings from massage therapists, Brett Favre allegedly sent selfies of his junk to a media personality.

My point is TB served a 144 game suspension + a 50 game/no pay penalty in 2023 for allegedly having rough sex and nothing else. He wasn’t charged, the evidence is weak at best and he has paid his penance and now it’s time to move on.

If the Dodgers are serious about wanting to win a WS they will keep him on the roster and accept him back as an athlete and an accomplished ML pitcher, not a choir boy. Mark is right……. the Dodgers lack a spine if they release him.

Based on the Mets spending and the ubiquitous need for more pitching! Bauer would be picked up in a heartbeat. Winning soothes the savage beast of PR. Bad business and tactical strategy to release Bauer with nothing in return. The decision to sign Bauer turned into a mess, but the Dodgers have already suffered greatly. Why add to the suffering by releasing now? Bear is right, as usual: the only good choice for Bauer is to opt out for more money. Based on the deals over this winter, it’s possible.

Well, isn’t this a hoot.

I have absolutely no idea what the Dodgers will do. Maybe they go for a quick strike, make an announcement today or tomorrow. Under the cover of Christmas and all. I believe they have until Jan. 6. But why drag it out. Won’t take long to figure out the ramifications. They’ve probably already done this.

If they keep Bauer on the roster, a circus follows and the distraction will certainly take all the air out of the room. If they don’t it’s a $22 million dollar hit and they get nothing in return.

But this definitely puts them up against the luxury tax. They still need a center fielder. Not sure how all this plays out with the players. There was a story or two the players didn’t want Bauer back. Now there is no Justin Turner to help with the clubhouse.

No great options here. I’m guessing they cut Bauer loose. It’s up to the Dodgers now, finally in their court. We wait for Andrew Friedman to speak.

Totally with Mark on this.

Back him and keep him because he hasn’t done anything wrong.

The overlong process has taken place and he’s innocent.

Nothing to do with money or his value, back him because it’s the right thing to do.

If the Dodgers are serious about competing in 2023 they will keep him. Our offense with all the unproven kids probably will not be a top 10 or top 15 offense. Dodgers will have to do it with pitching, pitching and some more pitching. Bauer has ace stuff when he is on his game.

You do not waste 23 million of cap space on an ace pitcher if you want to win. Especially not when you are the Dodgers and already have been shedding cap space to reset the luxury tax.

And another aspect: Should the Dodgers fall out of contention , which is not that unlikely looking at their current roster and some other loaded teams like the Padres, Braves, Mets, Cards they have a huge trade chip in Bauer.

Ace pitchers are always in high demand come the trade deadline even if they carry some problems like Bauer.

Overall: Releasing Bauer would be a bad business decision.

Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Dodgers are in a catch 22 with Bauer. If they keep him the court of public opinion will likely make it a public relations nightmare. If they release him, on what grounds? Criminal charges were dropped and the league had no choice but to settle because they clearly lacked the grounds to justify the suspension. Unfortunately, it will damn if they keep him and damn if they release him without merit.

They will release Bauer and watch the Giants or the Astros will pick him up just thinking he will want to get back at the Dodgers. My vote seems like the Giants keep on taking exDodgers tahts my guess.

He’s a distraction at best, a PR nightmare at worse.

The Dodgers will chalk it up to a lesson learned and release him. This actually happens a lot: Eric Hosmer is the latest example of a guy with a big contract who got DFA’d. The Dodgers picked up Pujols when the Angels decided he no longer fit. Those were baseball /business decisions. Bauer is more of a pure business decision–a PR liability.

His contract–one that many fans like me opposed– just turned out bad for a weird reason.

Bauer was suspended and this ruling is hardly an exoneration. It’s not like he’s coming off a PEDs suspension and will promise to be a good boy.

Releasing him is not just the smart move for the Dodgers, but it’s the smart move for Bauer and the MLB.

Time to turn the page and move on. A fresh start and all that.

Interesting.

So, with the 50 game docking of Bauer’s pay, the Dodgers owe him 22 million. With the CBT at 233, and with the two conservative FA signings of Syndy and JDM, that puts the Dodgers JUST UNDER the cap by a mil. Gosh! It’s almost like the Dodgers had a pretty good idea beforehand what the outcome was going to be. Either that, or AF is Nostra-fricken-Damus. That’s pretty hysterical when you think about it. Oh, no! The process is not rigged, AT ALL.

It did strike me as weird that Bauer is now reinstated immediately, but his retroactive fine means he doesn’t get paid for 50 games. So, if he plays, that means he plays 50 games for free? Who would work for free?

I guess, if I were a betting person, I would say the Dodgers just release him and eat the 22 mil. It’s basically them saying, “we’ve moved on from Bauer. We don’t want to talk about him. Please, Molly Knight, don’t bash us with bad press.” … and I guess that message is worth eating 22 mil. I think, if there was a poll, that the majority of Dodger fans would say the accusation was really fishy and that he should be reinstated, but you can’t discount the effect of a few social justice warriors who write for the LA Times.

I would have to say though that Bauer actually does have trade value. Why not get something for him?

Or … maybe the Dodgers just say EF You! to the Molly Knights and the Dustin Noslers and the virtue signalling Santa Monica denizens and let him pitch for them this year. Here’s a story – 99.9% of people who shop at their local Trader Joe’s grocery store have absolutely no problem with TJ’s marketing their Mexican inspired food as “Trader Jose’s,” but of course some affluent white millennial Wokester speaking on behalf of downtrodden LatinX people started a campaign to stop that egregious display of cultural appropriation. TJ’s initially agreed to change the packaging for all of that stuff, but a funny thing happened. Regular people started complaining about the change. TJ’s reversed course and kept Trader Jose’s and Trader Ming’s, and normal, sane people were happy …. as it should be.

I suppose the Dodger front office could get a spine. Naw! Who am I kidding? Bauer’s fucking gone. Sayonara Trev!

Well, I have it from a pretty good source that Bauer is going to accept what the arbitrator ruled.

The end!

I’m with you MT ! Make him earn his $$ next year. My question is if they do release him will anybody pick him up ?

He can’t take it Federal Court if it’s binding arbitration, which I think it is. Nightingale is a moron, please, obviously completely correct here.

Well that’s who they are then! Cause they will never sign him. You do remember what state they play in! The industry with the worst track record in the history of workplace abuse toward women would be upset if Dodgers retained him.