Former MLB Cy Young winning pitcher Trevor Bauer displayed his high-ceiling in his NPB debut for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. Bauer wasted no time in dominating his competition, spinning seven innings of one-run baseball while striking out nine and walking just one hitter, per Dan Clark. Clark also reports that Bauer's fastball topped out at 97 MPH.
Bauer signed in Japan after previously pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, and Arizona Diamondbacks. He won the NL Cy Young Award in 2020 with Cincinnati, ultimately pitching to the tune of a sparkling 1.73 ERA that season. Trevor Bauer may have had an opportunity to win an AL Cy Young in 2018 with Cleveland had an injury not limited him down the stretch. Through 28 games (27 starts) during the '18 campaign, Bauer owned a 2.21 ERA to go along with 221 strikeouts.
Trevor Bauer signed with the Dodgers ahead of the 2021 season and pitched well to begin his tenure in Los Angeles. However, his season came to an early end and he was later suspended, having not pitched in an MLB game since. He was eligible to return for the 2023 campaign after his initial 324-game suspension was cut down to 194 games, but was released by the Dodgers during the offseason. Bauer was linked to various big league teams, but ended up signing with the BayStars.
He clearly still features the talent to potentially make a return to MLB. A return would draw plenty of media attention, so teams would need to decide if Trevor Bauer would be worth the extra storylines. Nevertheless, Bauer is clearly performing well so far in Japan.
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