A woman has filed a civil action against Trevor Bauer accusing him of a 2020 sexual assault in Arizona, reports Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today. Readers are advised that details of the allegations — which can be found in the USA Today article — are disturbing.
According to Schrotenboer, the woman first filed suit against Bauer last December and recently amended the complaint to include additional alleged details. Bauer has denied the allegations and filed a countersuit. Four women have been publicly known to have leveled sexual assault allegations against Bauer within the past few years.
The first of those allegations came to light midway through the 2021 season. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office elected not to proceed with criminal charges following an investigation, stating they didn’t have enough evidence to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. Two other women subsequently came forward with similar allegations; no criminal charges were filed.
MLB conducted an investigation and handed down a 324-game suspension — the joint domestic violence policy permits the league to impose discipline even in the absence of criminal charges — early in the 2022 season. Bauer appealed and sat out the entire season while the appellate process played out. Last December, an arbitration panel reduced the appeal to 194 games, which Bauer had already served while the investigations were pending.
The Dodgers designated Bauer for assignment shortly thereafter. Los Angeles released him in January. Two months later, he signed a one-year contract with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Bauer has made six NPB appearances this season.
