Trevor Bauer said that “playoff teams” reached out in attempts to acquire him but were “not allowed” to.
The 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner has not pitched in the big leagues since 2021, months after signing the largest deal based on average annual value for a pitcher, after sexual abuse allegations.
“We’ve talked to every team and all the baseball people, all the front office people, the GMs, the coaches, the players, they’re all, ‘Yeah, we want you. We want to sign you. We’d sign you in a heartbeat, but we’re not allowed to,'” Bauer said to the Dominican YouTube page Rompiendo Sports. “We’ve talked to people that, they’re like, ‘Hey, the GM, the president of the team, everybody on board.’ They take it to the owner. Owner’s like, ‘No.’ They ask, ‘Why? Why not?’ ‘Leave it alone. Don’t bring it up again.’
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Trevor Bauer pitches for Long Island Ducks during no-hitter on Sunday, April 26, 2026. (Jordan McGregor)
“We had people on playoff teams this past year that were like, ‘We need Trevor. Bring him in.’ And they’re like, ‘If you bring his name up again, we will fire you on the spot. Do not bring it up again.’ I mean, we’re talking playoff teams, really good people.”
Bauer has not been quiet about his apparent blackballing from the league, a claim he echoed in the interview.
“We’ve had people in organizations that I’ve been with in the past, they’re like, ‘Hey, I can’t say this publicly because I’ll lose my job. But just know they’re working against you. They’re not going to let you play again. So, just so you can know in your head and move on with your life, they will never let you play again.’ And I know this. We’ve heard this stuff from all sorts of different [places]. It’s not just one team. It’s like eight or 10 teams at this point,” he said.
Bauer admitted that he has brought negative press upon himself with “sticky stuff and cheating scandals,” and further “bad media attention” stemming from the accusations against him has hurt his case, “even though they all know it’s false.”
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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“They don’t have to let me back, because they can hide behind if an organization signs me, it would just be too much negative media pressure. There’s nothing I can do about it.”
Bauer spent the 2026 season playing in both independent ball and in Mexico, and he is now playing in the Dominican Republic.
On June 28, 2021, 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 a 324-game suspension (the equivalent of two seasons), which was reduced to 184 games, for violating the league’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.
Nearly two years ago, Bauer said he “may have no other choice” but to sue Major League Baseball “if I continue being kept out” of the league. Bauer has said he’d play in the majors for free.
Bauer has maintained his innocence, settling with one accuser while another is facing 16 years in prison after being charged with fraud for allegedly faking a pregnancy and asking Bauer for money for an abortion.
Long Island Ducks pitcher Trevor Bauer, the former MLB Cy Young Award winner, struck out 10 against the Lexington Legends in his latest Atlantic League start. (Long Island Ducks)
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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.
At the time of the allegations, Bauer was pitching to a 2.59 ERA with the Los Angeles Dodgers.