For a point in time, Trevor Bauer was one of the most dangerous pitchers in the MLB. But after being accused by several women of sexual assault, Bauer was suspended by the league, and ultimately couldn't find anyone willing to take him and his off-field baggage onto their roster once his suspension was up. Instead, Bauer opted to head to Japan in an effort to retake the mound.
Bauer signed with the Yokohama BayStars in the Japanese Central League over the offseason after being unable to land a deal in the MLB, and recently made his debut for them with their minor league team. Bauer dealt four scoreless innings, giving up four hits while striking out six, and he sounded pleased with his first outing in two years.
“I thought the day went really well. The stuff was good, the command was good, the health was good. I feel like I'm ready to compete now, but I have to build my pitch count. I've stayed ready. I didn't feel like I'd been away at all. The game came to me well. It didn't speed up on me. I commanded the ball. There really wasn't any adjustment. Just competitive baseball instead of throwing to hitters in a cage. I felt like I was pretty close to 100 percent today. Obviously, I have to have a couple more outings to get up the pitch count. But I feel 100%.” – Trevor Bauer, ESPN
The level of competition here obviously isn't anywhere near what it is in the MLB, but Bauer certainly didn't look any worse for wear after taking such an extended period of time off from pitching. It will be interesting to see how he looks when he makes it out of the minor leagues, and whether he's successful in his efforts to find his way back to the MLB.
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