The afternoon had been calm around the Chavez ravine.
For much of Thursday, business was business as usual for the Dodgers front-office. Most club staff were preparing for the upcoming holiday weekend, and some executives had already dispersed with Christmas Eve two days away.
Team officials did not anticipate any major news – particularly regarding the status of Trevor Bauer’s appeal for a domestic violence suspensiona decision the club said would not be known for at least several weeks, according to people with knowledge of the situation and not authorized to speak publicly.
At 5:00 p.m. PST, however, everything changed.
Major League Baseball has announced an independent umpire reduces Bauer’s original 324-game suspension to 194 and made the pitcher immediately eligible, giving the Dodgers 14 days to release him or put him back on their roster.
Team leaders had only been alerted to the decision about half an hour earlier, people with knowledge of the situation said, and some staff were not told until after the public announcement of the decision. MLB.
“We have just been notified of the referee’s decision,” the Dodgers said in a statement, “and will comment as soon as possible.”
Since Bauer was suspended In April, the Dodgers received little information on the status of his appeal process.
Still, some team officials had been preparing in recent weeks for the suspension to be reduced. Although Bauer hasn’t played for the Dodgers since June 2021, when allegations against him first surfaced, and his initial suspension was to cover the remainder of his three-year, $102 million contract with the Dodgers. team, the possibility remained that he would. be reinstated for 2023.
Now it is a reality.
And what exactly comes next stay clear.
When called, the prevailing belief in the industry was that the pitcher would never take the mound again in a Dodgers uniform.
Yet on Thursday night club officials were still discussing how they would proceed, according to people with knowledge of the situation, and could wait to make a final decision until January 1 approaches. 6 deadline to release Bauer or activate him.
The team would like to gather more information about what led to the referee’s decision. But the secrecy rules of MLB’s sexual assault and domestic violence policy, which was jointly negotiated by the league and the players’ union, make it unlikely the Dodgers will learn much, if anything, from beyond Thursday’s statement or receive a copy of the referee’s final report.
Dodgers starting pitcher Trevor Bauer delivers against the San Diego Padres during spring training in March 2021.
(Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press)
Some fan base factions are hoping the Dodgers will release Bauer as soon as possible (which they can do starting Friday morning, once Bauer is officially reinstated by the league).
The umpire claimed the pitcher violated the league’s sexual assault and domestic violence policy. And even at 194 games, Bauer’s suspension is the longest ever administered in the policy’s seven-year history.
But until the Dodgers officially cut ties with Bauer, his return to the team is at least a slim possibility.
The financial impact of Bauer’s reduced suspension will also soon begin to be felt.
Whether or not the Dodgers release him, Bauer will still owe $22.5 million this season. (That could drop to around $21.8 million if he’s released and signed by another team with league minimum salary.)
That’s less than the $32 million Bauer was originally supposed to earn in 2023. But even that reduced amount pushes the Dodgers’ estimated luxury tax payroll for next season, according to the Fangraphs Roster Resource database, at just under $233 million – the threshold at which the league begins to assess luxury tax penalties.
After paying tax penalties over the past two years and facing an inflated 50% tax rate in 2023 for being a repeat offender, the Dodgers previously looked likely to stay below the $233 million tax line. .
They had released more than $100 million in team wages last year. They had only made a string of modest one-year signings so far this offseason. And while their lack of spending generated a series of disappointing additions for next year, the long-term benefits of a potential tax reset would have positioned them to spend big again next offseason, when Shohei Ohtani is about to make headlines in the free agent market.
Bauer’s reduced suspension could complicate such plans.
Staying below the tax line could prevent the Dodgers from making other necessary additions to the roster in 2023 — like adding more pitching depth or a left-handed bat before winter ends, or trading for a stoppage — runs or a bona fide ace before the summer deadline.
On the other hand, if they cross the threshold to complete their 2023 squad, the resulting penalties could make them less willing to pay a luxury tax again next season, leaving room to add another contract. long-term profit within a year. .more and more tenuous.
Bauer continued to deny allegations made against him by three women, two of whom were allegedly tested as witnesses during his hearing. After his suspension was reduced on Thursday, he tweeted that he “can’t wait to see you in a stadium soon!”
However, he might not find a warm welcome at Dodger Stadium.
Although he was one of the team’s best pitchers in 2021 before his suspension, going 8-5 with a 2.59 ERA in 17 starts, he also had a polarizing number even before he left. be charged with sexual assault.
These allegations also turned pitcher into an outcast in his own clubhouse. Two people with knowledge of the Dodgers clubhouse dynamics at the time, who were granted anonymity to speak freely about the situation, said a majority of players on that 2021 team did not want Bauer back in any way. .
No Dodgers player has publicly come to his defense since then, either.
This is all part of what could ring Thursday’s news at the club for a long time to come.
The Dodgers may only have two weeks to decide whether to keep Bauer this season. But, even after 18 months of uncertainty and speculation, it will likely take much longer for the full fallout of the situation to become clear.
Writer Mike DiGiovanna contributed to this report.
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