Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES — When Andrew Friedman signed Trevor Bauer to a three-year deal during the 2020 offseason, he knew he was getting a powder keg of player. He just didn’t realize it would blow up in his face so quickly.
Friedman made a bet: hire Bauer to a short-term deal with plenty of opt-outs, ride him to a second World Series in a row, and then get out before somebody gets hurt. Well, that idea lasted all of twelve weeks. In fact, the incident which led to the entire mess happened barely a month into the season. And now, with MLB issuing a two-year suspension for Bauer’s violation of its domestic violence policy, it looks very likely like the Friedman and the Dodgers lost their bet on the volatile Bauer.
A pattern of bad behavior
To be honest, the writing was on the wall far before that fateful night in Pasadena when everything went south on his career. There was the goofy drone accident, the tossing the ball over the center field fence instead of relinquishing it to his Cleveland manager Terry Francona, the online behavior that was, to put it charitably, problematic.
Still, I don’t blame Friedman for taking a flyer on the guy. His larger-than-life persona may rub some people the wrong way, but he delivered on the mound. In the strike-shortened 2020, he had a ERA of 1.73 and a WHIP of 0.79. That is elite, regardless of the package it comes in.
Dodgers free of obligation
Now, the Dodgers can put it down to a 40-million dollar lesson learned. If the suspension is upheld, they will no longer be on the hook for the rest of Bauer’s hefty 2022 salary, nor will they have to write him a paycheck in 2023. That frees up a lot of money that can be spent elsewhere. If there is another A+ starter on the market at the trade deadline, like maybe a Zac Gallen or a Shane Bieber, I could see the Dodgers going all-in where they might not have been able to do so with the albatross of Bauer around their necks. We’ll see how the front office chooses to play it.
It’s over. Seriously.
It’s a little sad to see the Dodgers fan base get all worked up over Bauer and whether or not he deserved the punishment he was given. Let’s face facts. Bauer was never a Dodger. Not in any real sense of the term. He put those opt-outs in his contract for a reason. He wanted to maximize his earning potential, and would have left the Dodgers in a heartbeat if he had the chance to.
The Dodgers need to put it out of their minds completely. Except for this one lesson. Character matters. It always has, and it always will. The Dodgers used to know that. It’s not clear if they still do.
