Former MLB slugger says teams should want Trevor Bauer, but pitcher must do something first

At this point, it appears to be a long shot that Trevor Bauer will get back into Major League Baseball.

But the possibility is certainly alive after he recently threw a no-hitter for the Long Island Ducks of the Independent League.

Bauer recently shut down claims that he is “washed” on social media, saying that both his velocity and induced vertical break (“ride”) are higher now on fastballs than they were in 2020 when he won the Cy Young Award.

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Trevor Bauer smiles after pitching no-hitter for Long Island Ducks on Sunday, April 26, 2026. (Jordan McGregor)

But what’s become evident that’s keeping him out is prior allegations of sexual assault, which initially got him suspended for two full seasons before it was reduced to 194 games.

Bauer has continued to maintain his innocence and said he has told teams he’d play “for free.” On the flip side, though, Bauer once said in 2024 he “may have no other choice” but to sue the league. He also most recently called out MLB after Pete Rose and other deceased former ballplayers were taken off the league’s permanently ineligible list.

“I think he needs to clear up the issues with MLB first before he gets to this level. I think one thing with Trevor Bauer was that he went against MLB, and you can’t go against the hands that really feeds you,” Pujols recently told Fox News Digital.

If he could do that, though, teams should jump at the opportunity, Pujols said.

“I had an opportunity to play with him with the (Los Angeles) Dodgers. Who doesn’t want to have Trevor Bauer on their team? Of course,” Pujols said.

“But I think at the end of the day, you know, he’s still trying, but he needs to clear out what his issue is with MLB.”

Trevor Bauer pitches for Long Island Ducks during no-hitter on Sunday, April 26, 2026. (Jordan McGregor)

This June will mark five years since Bauer, as the reigning Cy Young Award winner, last appeared in an MLB game. On June 28 of that year, he tossed six innings of two-run ball while striking out eight batters, recording the win. Two days later, he was hit with sexual assault allegations, which eventually led to the suspension for violating the league’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.

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Bauer pitched in Japan in both 2023 and 2025, while a stint in Mexico came in 2024. He pitched to a 2.59 ERA and 9.2 K/9 in Japan in 2023, and in Mexico, those numbers improved to 2.48 and 13.0. Last year in Japan, though, his ERA shot up to 4.41, and he struck out just 8.2 batters per nine innings.

“Anyone that’s willing to sit down with me and listen: I’d like to play the second half of my career in a better way than I played the first half,” Bauer told Fox News Digital in January 2024. “I’d like to be an example that you can make mistakes, recognize them, adjust and then be better in the future. I think that’s something us as humans have to do and should be doing constantly.”

Bauer has maintained his innocence, settling with one accuser while another is facing 16 years in prison after being charged with fraud following faking a pregnancy and asking Bauer for money for an abortion.

Bauer and Lindsey Hill, who accused the pitcher of beating and sexually abusing her in 2021, settled their case in late 2023. Bauer revealed texts from Hill, who said that Bauer would be her “next victim,” among other damning messages. Hill has since said that MLB has more evidence of Bauer’s alleged misconduct.

Trevor Bauer hasn’t pitched in the major leagues since the 2021 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. (Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports)

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Last June, Hill was ordered to pay Bauer more than $300,000 for violating settlement terms. Hill breached their settlement agreement with each other by discussing Bauer on podcasts and in public appearances, the Los Angeles Times reported.

At the time of the allegations, Bauer was pitching to a 2.59 ERA with the Dodgers.

Fox News’ Scott Thompson contributed to this report.

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