NEW YORK (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer's administrative leave was extended yet again, this time by six additional days through April 22, by Major League Baseball and the players’ association.
The decision was made Wednesday, a person familiar with the proceedings said, speaking on condition of anonymity because no announcement was authorized.
Bauer was placed on seven days’ paid leave last July 2 under the joint domestic violence and sexual assault policy of MLB and the union after a Southern California woman said he choked her into unconsciousness, punched her repeatedly and had anal sex with her without her consent during two sexual encounters earlier last year.
MLB and the union have since agreed to several extensions.
Bauer’s agents, Jon Fetterolf and Rachel Luba, have repeatedly pointed out that administrative leave is not a disciplinary action.
Bauer did not pitch after June 29. He had a record of 8-2 and a 2.59 ERA in 17 appearances in his first season with the Dodgers. He was paid his $28 million salary last year.
Los Angeles prosecutors decided in February not to charge Bauer for allegedly beating and sexually abusing the San Diego woman he met through social media.
Prosecutors were unable to prove the woman’s accusations beyond a reasonable doubt, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said in a document concluding their investigation.
After the prosecutors’ decision, Bauer vehemently denied in a seven-minute video posted on YouTube that he abused the woman. He said the two engaged in rough sex at her suggestion and followed guidelines they agreed to in advance. Each encounter ended with them joking and her spending the night, he said.
The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they have been victims of sexual assault.
After winning his first Cy Young Award with the Cincinnati Reds in 2020, Bauer agreed to a $102 million, three-year contract to join his hometown Dodgers.