Trevor Bauer fights additional sexual assault allegation from 2020 while in Japan

Former Los Angeles Dodgers starter Trevor Bauer was suspended by Major League Baseball under the sexual assault and domestic abuse policy for what eventually amounted to a record 194 games.

The league's decision stemmed from a woman from San Diego who made accusations of nonconsensual sexual impropriety against Bauer in the summer of 2021, followed by additional (similar) accusations from two women in Ohio who spoke with the Washington Post.

This offseason, Bauer's suspension was lifted and capped out, which did not earn him a job in Major League Baseball. The Dodgers released him, giving any other team the option to extend the right-hander a contract offer. Whether that happened or not, nothing was finalized, and Bauer instead linked up with the Yokohama Bay Stars, something he now claims has always been a dream of his.

Bauer's tenure in Japan has not been spotless, either on the field or off of it. American fans, looking for any catnip from the right-hander's potential overseas failures, widely circulated a tweet claiming he'd been sent to the Japanese minors after struggling in his early outings. That was accurate; his one-game "adjustment start" featured another long home run.

After he'd spent nearly two years away from the game, even the most craven MLB team would have been skeptical of erosion in Bauer's skills this offseason, complicating any pursuit of the star. Furthermore, it would seem that the existing accusations against the right-hander didn't tell the entire story. According to recently-released information, another Arizona woman is alleging that their encounter in 2020 turned violent, accusing Bauer of sexual assault and choking her to the point of unconsciousness.

Former Dodgers starter Trevor Bauer accused of sexual assault in Arizona in 2020

Bauer categorically denies the nature of the charges, claiming his encounter with the woman was consensual (a familiar refrain) and that, in the months that followed, she attempted to extort him while claiming a pregnancy.

"His attorneys are fighting back, saying he had a single, consensual encounter with the Arizona woman in December 2020, when he said the condom broke during sex. After that encounter, the woman claimed she was pregnant and demanded $1.6 million to terminate her pregnancy, according to Bauer’s countersuit against the woman. His attorneys stated in court documents that Bauer made an audio recording of this demand."

USA Today

Many players flee to Japan from MLB in hopes of eventually being given a shot at redemption. Mostly, those are athletes whose flameouts involve struggling to find their on-field footing, rather than creating a dour cloud around their off-field actions.

With every accusation and resulting court case that he must address and fend off, Bauer's chances of eventually finding a foothold on American soil lessen further.