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The wait is finally over....
After a somewhat quiet offseason from the World Series champions, the Dodgers made one of the biggest free-agency splashes we’ve seen, as they have signed starting pitcher Trevor Bauer.
Trevor Bauer's three-year deal with the Dodgers is for $102 million guaranteed -- and for $40 million in 2021 and $45 million in 2022. He can opt out after each year, meaning he'll make $40M if he opts out this year, $85M if he does so after 2022 and $102M if he stays all three.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 5, 2021
Bauer, who recently turned 30 years old, won the National League Cy Young Award in 2020. Say what you want about the shortened season, but there was no denying he was one of the best pitchers in the NL. He was first in the league in ERA (1.73), WHIP (0.795) and shutouts (2). He was second in strikeouts with 100 and was second in SO/9 at 12.3. In addition, his strikeout percentage of 36% and K-BB% of 29.9 were also second in the NL, respectively.
He really dominated during the final month of the season, winning the Pitcher of the Month award for September. Bauer made five starts, averaging seven innings an outing with an ERA of 1.29. Opponents hit .175 off him, and he struck out 46 compared to only six walks.
Bauer saved his best game of the year for the postseason, as he was essentially untouchable against the Atlanta Braves. In Game 1 of the NLWCS, Bauer threw 7 2⁄3 innings of shutout baseball while allowing only two hits. He struck out 12 and issued zero walks. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as the Reds fell to the Braves.
He has plenty of postseason experience, as he played in October three times while with the Indians. In 33 2⁄3 career innings in the playoffs, Bauer owns a 2.94 ERA and had 44 strikeouts with only eight walks. Over his last 20 2⁄3 innings pitched in October, his ERA is only 1.31 while opponents have hit .190 off him.
Bauer is a local kid, as he was born in North Hollywood. He attended Hart High School in Santa Clarita, which is only 30 miles from Dodger Stadium. He then played collegiate ball at UCLA. In 2011, he was named the Pac-12 Conference Pitcher of the Year and was also named to the All-Pac-12 First Team.
During his final season at UCLA, Bauer went 13–2 with a 1.25 ERA in 16 starts. He set a nation-leading and Pac-12 single-season record with 203 strikeouts. Bauer dominated to close out the season, throwing nine consecutive complete games while establishing new records at UCLA, with 460 career strikeouts, 34 wins, and 373 1⁄3 innings. Bauer won the Golden Spikes Award, which goes to the top player in the country.
With the addition of Bauer, the Dodgers now have three former Cy Young Award winners in their starting rotation. Clayton Kershaw is a three-time winner, having won in 2011, 2013 and 2014. David Price won in 2012.
After seeing what the Padres did this offseason with their starting rotation, Andrew Friedman countered by picking up the best starting pitcher available on the market. If all goes right, the Dodgers will begin 2021 with a starting rotation of Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, Trevor Bauer, David Price and Julio Urias. Not to mention, you have Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May as well.