Former Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Trevor Bauer has just recently inked a deal to continue his baseball career.
Will he be headed back to MLB?
Not quite.
On Sunday, it was reported that Bauer has re-signed with NPB club Yokohama DeNA BayStars. Bauer pitched in 2023 for the Japanese club — registering a 10-4 record with a 2.76 ERA. Last year, Bauer pitched for Diablos Rojos del Mexico in the Mexican League.
The odyssey away from Major League Baseball continues for Bauer. Now 34 years of age, Bauer has not pitched for a Major League ballclub dating back to 2021. As a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Bauer was placed on administrative leave over sexual assault allegations. In 2023, Bauer was released from the club.
In October of that year, Bauer’s name was legally cleared after multiple lawsuits were reportedly settled. The LA County District Attorney’s Office also did not file any criminal charges. Despite being a free agent and presumably an attractive option for pitching-starved teams, MLB clubs have stayed away from Bauer as his social media presence has continued to grow.
Over the years, Bauer has built up several baseball-themed social media channels — all of which are quite popular. Some detailed his life in both Mexico and Japan as somewhat of the live vlogging variety. Another called Momentum follows Bauer and a group of his employees as they do baseball challenges such as creating a baseball bat using hardware equipment, hitting off various styles of pitching using a state-of-the-art pitching machine, and even scavenger hunts involving baseball. Employee/former Minor League player Eric Sim has become somewhat of a cult hero in the aftermath of these videos.
All the while, Bauer has stayed in pitching shape — often tinkering with different grips and delivery techniques. With another season slated to be on the books in Japan, followers of his YouTube channels will likely enjoy more content following his journey.