With a quiet offseason winding to a close and free agency market that didn’t materialize as expected, Trevor Bauer came down to deciding between signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers or New York Mets.
Multiple reports over recent weeks indicated the Mets were the frontrunners for the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner. Last Thursday it was reported New York and Bauer had come to terms.
However, that was refuted minutes later, including from Bauer’s agent, Rachel Luba. She insisted two teams remained involved in the final stage. The following morning Bauer announced he had decided to sign with the Dodgers. Though, that was after Mets marketing materials were discovered on his website.
Terms of Bauer’s deal reportedly are three years and $102 million, and include opt outs after each of the first two seasons. Bauer’s $40 million salary this season will make him the highest paid player in MLB history, and he’s on track to hold that designation in 2022 with a $45 million salary.
After days of silence with respect to indications he was signing with the Mets, Bauer explained the mishap with his website, apologized to Mets fans and committed to make multiple donations to non-profit organizations in New York.
the phone with my representation team trying to figure that out. I wasn’t on social media or my website, as my marketing and digital team was managing both at the time, so I didn’t see what happened until after the fact. I’ve taken some time over the last two days to figure it
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) February 8, 2021
be prepared for a moment that could materialize very quickly, we had uploaded many of those to my website on the back-end. The plan was not to have those pages live until a decision had been made, which is obviously not what happened. That was the first mistake. The plan was to
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) February 8, 2021
discovered and began to spread on social media.
The resulting confusion is understandable and regrettable. My intention was never to mislead your fan base, nor was it to troll you in any way. I had a fantastic time engaging with fans from many teams over the last few months and
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) February 8, 2021
for the errors above. It was an embarrassing and emotional moment for me.
For those of you who entered the giveaway, you will be entered into a raffle for game tickets next time the Dodgers play the Mets (and fans are able to be in stadium). I will also be donating $10,000 each
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) February 8, 2021
loud in person, even if it’s not in cheers for me.
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) February 8, 2021
With Bauer the Dodgers arguably boast the best rotation in baseball and one that features three Cy Young Award winners. Julio Urias is expected to be the fifth starter, pushing Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May to the bullpen or swing roles.
Dodgers’ reaction to signing Bauer
Cody Bellinger and David Price were among those to share their excitement on social media after Bauer announced his decision. Blake Treinen offered a similar sentiment during an interview with MLB Network Radio.
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