As the start of Spring Training draws closer, a handful of baseball’s top free agents remained unsigned, with perhaps the best being starting pitcher Trevor Bauer.
Bauer is coming off a Cy Young season with the Cincinnati Reds in which he went 5-4 with a 1.73 ERA, 2.88 FIP and 0.80 WHIP with 100 strikeouts and 17 walks in 73 innings across 11 starts.
The 30-year-old has had a number of teams shown interest in him, although recent reports have indicated he is holding out in hopes of receiving an offer of his liking from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
That does not come as a huge surprise considering the Dodgers are coming off a championship season and are the favorites to win it again in 2021, and he is from the Southern California area, attending Hart High School in Santa Clarita and UCLA.
It appears the New York Mets and Dodgers are the teams most prominently involved with Bauer as he gets close to a decision, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network:
The Dodgers are indeed the other team still vying for Trevor Bauer, via sources. They have the advantage of being his hometown team and also the World Series champion. Should be an interesting battle that’s expected to be settled within 24 hours.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 4, 2021
Bauer’s agent, Rachel Luba, then seemingly confirmed that there are only two teams remaining in the Bauer sweepstakes, with the presumption being they are the Dodgers and Mets:
Down to 2️⃣
— Rachel Luba (@AgentRachelLuba) February 4, 2021
Whether or not the Dodgers will sign Bauer will likely come down to what type of contract he is looking for. L.A. is believed to be interested in signing him to a short-term contract of one or two years with a high average annual value, while the Mets may be willing to go to three or even four years.
Bauer has said for years that he only wants to sign one-year contracts in free agency, although his stance on that seems to have changed this offseason.
Buehler hopeful Dodgers will sign Bauer
One person that is hopeful the Dodgers will sign Bauer is Walker Buehler as the two are good friends and would combine to form the best top-of-the-rotation in baseball along with Clayton Kershaw.
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