Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer is hit with two-season suspension – Daily Mail

Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer has been suspended from Major League Baseball for two seasons over allegations he punched and choked a woman into unconsciousness during sex in 2021. 

Last July Bauer was accused of choking Lindsey Hill of San Diego, into unconsciousness, punching her repeatedly, and forcibly having anal sex without her consent during two sexual encounters.

Bauer has repeatedly denied the allegations, and this week filed a lawsuit against Hill. 

Trevor Bauer steps out of the courthouse after the last day of the hearings in August 2021. During those hearings, a restraining order imposed upon Bauer against Lindsey Hill was lifted

Bauer says that Hill concocted her a story about non-consensual sex alongside her lawyer Fred Thiagarajah. Thiagarajah told The Washington Post in February 2022 that his client had been ‘brutalized’ by Bauer

The attorney for Bauer’s alleged victim, Bryan Freedman, asked TMZ Sports to publish an unredacted photograph showing his client’s alleged injuries saying the damage could NOT possibly be part of a consensual encounter

In February Los Angeles prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to prove the woman’s accusations beyond a reasonable doubt because of text messages sent by Hill to Bauer in which she indicated she wanted to have rough sex with him.

But on Friday the MLB suspended the pitcher for 342 games for violating the MLB’s domestic violence policy. 

Who is Trevor Bauer?

The California-born Bauer ranks among baseball’s best pitchers and won the National League Cy Young award as a member of the Cincinnati Reds in 2020.

He celebrated his impressive 2020 season by inking a three-year, $102 million contract with the Dodgers before the 2021 campaign.

Prior to his successful one-year stint with Cincinnati, Bauer pitched for the Cleveland Indians and Arizona Diamondbacks. He also played collegiately at UCLA where he set a single-season Pac-12 strikeout record.

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In a statement league commissioner Rob Manfred said an investigation conducted by the MLB came to the conclusion that Bauer’s conduct violated the policy and warranted a suspension, the Los Angeles Times reported. 

In accordance to policy, the MLB does not reveal the specific conduct that triggers a suspension. 

Bauer denied the accusations once again following the news of the suspension, which he says he plans to appeal.

‘In the strongest possible terms, I deny committing any violation of the league’s domestic violence & sexual assault policy,’ he tweeted. ‘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’s team also released a statement, saying they take all allegations of domestic abuse seriously and that they fully cooperated with the investigation.

‘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,’ the team’s statement said. ‘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.’

The Dodgers added that they respect Bauer’s choice to appeal the commissioner’s decision and will not comment further until that process is complete. 

Bauer, who is the first of the MLB’s 16 players suspended under baseball’s sexual assault and domestic violence policy to not agree to a negotiated settlement, has the option to pursue an expedited appeal to the league’s independent arbitrator but he will not be able to play during the appeal process, the LA Times reported.