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Major League Baseball placed Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer on paid administrative leave Friday. This means Bauer won’t make his scheduled start with the Dodgers on Sunday in Washington D.C.
Under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy, Commissioner Rob Manfred is able to place Bauer on paid administrative leave for seven days, meaning he’ll be able to return next week. If there will be another seven-day leave, it will have to come in agreement with the players’ union.
Here is Major League Baseball’s statement on the incident:
“MLB’s investigation into the allegations made against Trevor Bauer is ongoing. While no determination in the case has been made, we have made the decision to place Mr. Bauer on seven-day administrative leave effective immediately. MLB continues to collect information in our ongoing investigation concurrent with the Pasadena Police Department’s active criminal investigation. We will comment further at the appropriate time.”
Bauer will not be with the team over the next seven days. He isn’t allowed to train or practice with the team or be in the dugout. Manager Dave Roberts doesn’t think this will have an impact in the clubhouse, as his team is focused on winning tonight’s game.
“This is where we were at yesterday, where I was in a position to not say anything because Major League Baseball was dealing with it,” Roberts said. “And they did. I still, and the Dodgers still, take a stand that we’re going to support whatever decision Major League Baseball makes. We’re focusing on tonight.
“When you get here, guys handle it differently. As far as a team, it’s not anything that affects how we prepare. Our goal and job is to win a baseball game for the Dodgers. Certainly it’s on guys’ minds, but I don’t think it affects performance.”
Bauer will not appeal the decision to place him on leave, as he doesn’t want to be more of a distraction than he already is. This was the statement released from Jon Fetterolf and Rachel Luba, Bauer’s co-agents.
We reaffirm our original statement and refute [the woman’s] allegations in the strongest possible terms. Mr. Bauer will not appeal MLB’s decision to place him on administrative leave at this time in an effort to minimize any distraction to the Dodgers organization and his teammates. Of note, administrative leave is neither a disciplinary action nor does it in any way reflect a finding in the league’s investigation.
USA Today Sports reported that the investigation is “bigger than we thought.’’
“We were looking into some things and we thought we were nearing the end,’’ Lt. Carolyn Gordon, who is overseeing the investigation, told USA TODAY Sports Friday. “We are not close to the end.
“This investigation is bigger than we thought. So we have to look a few more places. We want to try to uncover as much stuff as we can.
“I’m not going to reveal any of the information we’ve received. We have some things to look into. Some things have been uncovered and we want to continue our investigation.”
Taking Bauer’s spot on the active roster will be Brusdar Graterol, who was with the Dodgers at the White House this morning. With Bauer not starting on Sunday anymore, it will become a bullpen game, according to Roberts.
“We’re trying to figure out who is on our roster and piece it together,” he said.
“Sunday and then Friday are going to be bullpen games,” Roberts added. “With David [Price] being able to take down two plus [innings], just seeing where we’re at on those days and piece it together. There’s a move we might make with another player for more length, but it’s going to be piecing it together.”