On Thursday, it became official. The Los Angeles Dodgers released right-hander Trevor Bauer after his domestic violence case. Just last Friday, the organization designated him for assignment, which means a team could've traded for him in the last six days. By no surprise, that didn't happen.
Now, any ballclub can sign Bauer to a league minimum of $720,000. However, the Dodgers are still on the hook for quite a bit of money. Via Bill Plunkett:
“Bauer is now a free agent and can sign with any MLB team for the MLB minimum ($720k). The Dodgers are obligated to pay him his 2023 salary ($22.5m) minus any salary he draws from another MLB team.”
Call it $22 million. That's definitely not ideal for LA, but it's the reality of the situation. Some fans were hoping they would look past the sexual assault allegations and give the 2018 All-Star another chance. Others weren't so forgiving.
While there is no question the Dodgers could've benefited from Bauer's abilities on the hill for another season, they would've faced serious backlash. A lot of teams are probably going to be very wary about signing Bauer after this whole legal saga. That being said, for just $720,000, the veteran may be able to help out a contender at a discounted price. He's still throwing bullpens on a regular basis and has juice on the heater, despite the time away from the big leagues.
With Walker Buehler still recovering from Tommy John, Julio Urias, Dustin May, Clayton Kershaw, and Tony Gonsolin round out the rotation. The Dodgers also signed Noah Syndergaard this offseason. He could fill out the fifth spot.