With about two weeks to go until spring training, Trevor Bauer has made his decision.
After a lengthy free agency, the reigning National League Cy Young winner is signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Multiple reports confirmed the news, but MLB Network’s Jon Heyman had it first.
Bauer later left no doubt with a video he posted on YouTube.
The New York Mets had been in the running pretty much the entire time, though a number of teams were said to have been kicking the tires on him the last few months. Bauer’s agent announced Thursday that it was down to two teams, rumored to be the Mets and Dodgers.
Then, a report from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale said the Mets and Bauer had a deal. That was then refuted by MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, who said the two sides were making progress, but nothing was done.
Now, it turns out Nightingale was wrong and Bauer is headed to the West Coast. He’ll join a loaded rotation that includes Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Dustin May, David Price, Tony Gonsolin and Julio Urias.
Entering his age-30 season, Bauer is coming off a 2020 campaign in which he posted career bests with a 1.73 ERA and 0.759 WHIP with a 5-4 record over 11 starts with the Cincinnati Reds. In his last non-COVID shortened season, Bauer tossed 213 innings for the Cleveland Indians and Reds.
