Dodgers players’ comments on Trevor Bauer tell you all you need to know
At this point, with how quickly things have transpired, it’s not by any means a stretch to say that Trevor Bauer has thrown his final pitch of the 2021 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Though we’re still waiting on the Pasadena Police Department’s investigation to yield more information, Bauer’s situation with the Dodgers has quickly deteriorated.
He went from being accused of sexual assault and being able to pitch on July 4 to being placed on administrative leave on July 2 (and again on July 9) and seeing all of his merchandise removed from the Dodgers’ team store and MLB websites. The Dodgers also canceled his bobblehead night, which was scheduled for Aug. 19.
Now, at the MLB All-Star Game, his teammates are dodging questions in regard to the right-hander, which means we’re nearing the point of Bauer being erased from the 2021 Dodgers.
Dodgers players’ comments on Trevor Bauer tell you all you need to know.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today captured some quotes from a number of players in Denver and it’s clear they’ve all moved on. Bauer seems to be far in the rearview as it concerns them.
At some point, it would be nice to hear someone say something more forceful against the right-hander, but for now, we have icy coldness.
“We’re not really sure what’s going on there,” Justin Turner told Nightengale. “We’re just going to show up every day with what we have in the clubhouse and find a way to win ballgames.“The distraction is outside our clubhouse. We get paid to win baseball games.”“I think we’re going to move forward with the guys we have,” Max Muncy added. “It’s tough. I don’t want to comment on his situation. We have a lot of depth. We can fill in with pieces.”“I know right now it looks a little bleak in the starting rotation,” Walker Buehler said, “but Andrew has never been afraid to get guys to help us. I don’t want to talk about (Bauer). It is what it is. It’s out of my control.“We’ll strap it together, and put it together, whatever we have to do win.“Right now, I wouldn’t bet against us.”
This comes after it was discovered a number of Dodgers players unfollowed Bauer on Instagram, including Turner, Muncy, Mookie Betts, Albert Pujols, Kenley Jansen, Chris Taylor and Dustin May.
With the way the situation has escalated, it’s evident the direction in which it’s heading. Lt. Carolyn Gordon of the Pasadena Police Department told USA Today a couple days after the accusations came to light that the investigation is “bigger than we thought.”
All in all, Bauer’s signing has been a mess for this team. Even before the horrific allegations took him away from the game, his introductory press conference featured questions (which he refused to answer) about previous instances of online harassment. His teammates were asked if his boisterous personality would become a clubhouse distraction. The record-setting contract was met with a lot more criticism than promise.
Midway through the season, it’s now officially a disaster, and his teammates’ refusal to elaborate upon the difficult situation tells you all you need to know. Expect the Dodgers to be very active at the trade deadline because it’s looking more and more likely Bauer won’t be taking the field again in 2021.