Former Major League Baseball pitcher Trevor Bauer on Sunday continued his pitching showcase as he tossed three scoreless innings for the Diablos Rojos de Mexico in an exhibition game against the New York Yankees.
Bauer signed with the Diablos Rojos last week and made his first start on Sunday in Mexico City, scattering four hits, striking out three batters and walking two while allowing zero runs across three innings.
“My command was a little bit off. I would have liked not to walk two people,” Bauer said. “It was my first time pitching at this altitude, so the ball is moving a little bit differently. But it was a good day. The fans were incredible.”
Earlier this month, the 33-year-old Bauer pitched three scoreless innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the most recent team he played for in MLB in 2021. He was released by the Dodgers in June 2021 after a California woman filed a sexual assault lawsuit against him, and MLB placed him on administrative leave before suspending him in April 2022 for a league-record 324 games – equivalent to two full seasons. That suspension was later reduced to 194 games by an independent arbitrator in December 2022.
The lawsuit against Bauer, as well as a separate lawsuit he filed against his accuser in April 2022, ended in Oct. 2023 when both parties agreed to a settlement that involved no exchange of money.
Bauer, the 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner, has made clear his desire to sign with an MLB team and continue his career after spending the 2023 season with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He said the opportunity to pitch against the Yankees and essentially audition for an MLB job influenced his decision to sign with the Diablos Rojos.
“It was definitely part of the decision (to come to Mexico),” Bauer said. “I thought it’d be fun to pitch against the Yankees and make some content to entertain the fans. I want to play baseball. I have fun doing it and there’s a lot of things about this organization that are very good.”
Bauer pitched 10 seasons in MLB from 2012 to 2021, including six-plus seasons in Cleveland from 2013-19. He also pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks as a rookie, as well as the Cincinnati Reds and the Dodgers. For his MLB career, Bauer has an 83-69 record, 3.79 ERA, 1.243 WHIP and 1,416 strikeouts in 1,297.2 innings pitched in 222 games, including 212 starts.
MLB’s Opening Day 2024 is Thursday, March 28.
