GLENDALE, Ariz. – The 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner is now the Asian Breeze’s new ace.
Pitching for a team made up of players hoping to hook on with an affiliated team against a group of Dodgers minor-leaguers, Bauer threw three scoreless innings on the back fields at Camelback Ranch in front of a crowd of 100 or so – a good chunk of them members of the media or his social media team.
He dismissed the idea that he was trying to “showcase” himself for an MLB comeback.
“I just wanted to come out and have some fun playing baseball. That’s it,” said Bauer who spent last year pitching in Japan. “I don’t think that anyone doubts that I’m still really good. No one doubts my stuff. Outside of three bad innings in Japan last year I had a 1.9 (ERA). I threw 130 innings in three months. I don’t think anyone doubts my stuff. I added a splitter. I got four strikeouts on my splitter today. No one’s seen that from me in the States because I added that pitch last year.
“I’m a better pitcher than I was the last time people here saw me. Hopefully today reminded them that I’m still an elite pitcher. If not, that’s fine too.”
It was the first game action in the United States for the controversial Bauer since he pitched six innings for the Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants on June 28, his 17th and final start for the Dodgers after signing a three-year, $102 million contract with them.
Shortly after, accusations of sexual assault became public and Bauer has not pitched in MLB since, serving a 194-game suspension and getting released by the Dodgers.
Since his season in Japan ended, Bauer has publicly campaigned for a return to MLB, offering to play for the major-league minimum. There have been no takers and no sign that any major-league team is willing to risk the bad publicity or potential protests that Bauer might attract.
“I mean if you think about it, I should have the opportunity to sign with a big-league team,” Bauer said Sunday. “I’m just asking for the league minimum, so it’s not a money thing. I’ve served my suspension twice over. I’ve been cleared of everything in the legal system. If you think about it logically, there’s really no reason I shouldn’t have a job. But I don’t. So it is what it is. We’ll see how it plays out. I don’t want to predict the future. We’ll see.”
Bauer said he was “just in joking-around, have-a-good-time mode – I wasn’t super competitive” facing a Dodgers team that included three players from the 40-man roster (Hunter Feduccia, Andy Pages and Diego Cartaya) as well as their second-round pick from last year’s draft (Jake Gelof). They loaded the bases in the first inning against Bauer thanks to a pop up that was misplayed but Bauer retired the final eight batters he faced in order.
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While Bauer downplayed the significance of returning to the Dodgers’ complex and insisted he was just there to “have fun playing baseball” and “entertain the fans which is what I always try to do,” his desire to return to MLB was obvious even though he acknowledged the likelihood of that happening is not high.
“I think anyone who was here could see that the stuff was elite,” he said. “Command is there. (Pitch) shapes are there. All that. If it did, it did, if it didn’t, it didn’t. It is what it is at this point.”
Bauer said he would continue to “stay ready” and try to entertain fans with his YouTube videos.
“And then see where it goes from there,” he said. “I don’t know. I don’t really plan at this point, because everything is out of my control. I just stay ready and maybe people somehow will remember that I’m still one of the best pitchers in the world. Maybe that makes a difference.”