Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Updated Post – Jan. 12, 14:20

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced on Thursday afternoon that they’ve released right-handed pitcher Trevor Bauer. Jon Heyman of the New York Post has already reported that the New York Mets will not pursue Bauer.

Original Post – Jan. 6, 19:39

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced on Friday that they will be releasing starting pitcher Trevor Bauer. Once his suspension was reduced from 324 games to 194, the organization had an important decision to make. The Dodgers decided that the best decision was to let him go. Bauer will still receive $22.5 million from the team in 2023. If Bauer signs with another team, the Dodgers won’t have to pay whatever his salary is with the new team.

Bauer originally signed a three-year, $102 million with the Dodgers in February of 2021. The 31-year-old pitcher made 17 starts during the 2021 season before he was placed on administrative leave due to allegations of sexual misconduct and domestic violence.

In April of 2022, months after he was placed on administrative leave, Bauer was given a 324-game suspension by Major League Baseball for violating their domestic violence policy. The full two-season suspension for Bauer was the league’s longest suspension ever given out for domestic violence.

Martin F. Scheinman, an independent arbitrator, reduced Bauer’s suspension to 194 games in December of 2022, giving the Dodgers just a few weeks to make a decision on his future with the team.

Now that he is eligible to return to Major League Baseball, Bauer is a free agent and will be able to sign with another team. During the offseason that Bauer ended up signing with the Dodgers, the Mets were one of the other teams that competed for his services and at one point owner Steve Cohen thought for sure they had the winning bid.

The former CY Young Award winner was 8-5 with a 2.59 ERA in 107 2/3 innings in his only season with the Dodgers.