Ex-Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer to return to Japan’s NPB for 2025 season
Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer is re-signing with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars and will play for them in the 2025 season.
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Trevor Bauer (Image via Imago)
Former Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer is heading back to Japan. The pitcher has rejoined the Yokohama DeNA BayStars for the 2025 season, and will once again spend time playing in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
After being suspended from the MLB in 2021 on allegations of domestic violence and se*ual assault, he was released from his contract by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Bauer later went to Japan to revive his baseball career.
In 2023, he joined the DeNA BayStars and performed in front of a Japanese audience. In his first season with them, he went 10-4 while having an ERA of 2.76. He picked up 130 strikeouts through 130.1 innings pitched.
After the 2023 season, he elected free agency, in hopes of getting signed by a MLB team. Despite him claiming to play for free, no team signed him. He would thus join the Diablos Rojos del México of the Mexican League (LMB).
Bauer would even play against the New York Yankees in an exhibition match. During this, he threw 3 scoreless innings despite giving up 4 hits.
The 34-year-old is now re-joining the DeNA Baystars. This will likely be a huge boost for the team as they set to defend their Japan Series title which they won in 2024. It was their first championship title since 1998 and their third overall.
Trevor Bauer comments on Juan Soto $765 million deal with New York Mets
4-time MLB All-Star Juan Soto broke MLB records when he penned down the 15-year $765 million deal with the New York Mets. This is currently the biggest contract ever offered in professional sports history. Trevor Bauer recently made a comment regarding this.
In the offseason, before Soto agreed to join the Mets, there had been talks about him earning around $600 million. However, just a few days before the deal, reports emerged that the sweepstakes of him had crossed the $750 million mark.
In the end, Soto rejected the Yankees’ offer of a 16-year $760 million and chose to join their cross-town rivals. Reacting to this deal on Ryan Pineda‘s “The Wealthy Way” Podcast, Bauer pointed out that not every player in the league will earn this much.
People see Juan Soto sign for, you know, basically a billion dollars or whatever. It’s crazy; he deserves it by the way. He’s the best hitter in baseball. But they see him signed for that and go, ‘Oh, baseball players get paid so much,’ but the vast majority don’t.
Trevor Bauer said
The contracts in MLB are slightly lower than the ones in the NBA and the NFL. Before Soto’s deal, the biggest deal in MLB record belonged to Shohei Ohtani, who joined the Los Angeles Dodgers on a $700 million in December 2023.
Juan Soto breaks Shohei Ohtani's record deal for the richest contract in sports history 💰 pic.twitter.com/aSrPkPxGeG
— ESPN (@espn) December 9, 2024
Before Ohtani, the highest money ever offered to any player in the MLB was $426.5 million which the Los Angeles Angels had offered to Mike Trout to extend his stay with them. Given how the last two offseasons have gone, the chances of a superstar player earning more than $765 million are high.
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Vinay Dave
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