Trevor Bauer is confident that he would still be one of the most dominant pitchers in Major League Baseball if a team gave him a chance, but one Hall of Fame slugger does not seem so sure about that.
Bauer has not pitched in an MLB game since 2021. On Monday, the right-hander signed a deal for a second stint with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan.
Though he continues to only get opportunities to pitch outside of the United States, Bauer agreed with one person on X who said the 34-year-old is “is one of the most popular pitchers in the world today.”
“Second, behind Shohei. I don’t think anyone in America understands how big of a global superstar he is,” Bauer wrote. “I beat everyone else though, including outdrawing every single mlb team in daily views just on my YouTube channel alone. That includes their streaming and tv numbers btw.
“I’m the second most popular player and the most knowledgeable pitcher on the planet. I’m also a top 10 pitcher on the planet and willing to play for $0. That’s minimum $50M value per year that you’d get for $0. But, someone very obviously lied about me one time so, I can’t go back to work. The absurdity of this situation is off the charts.”
I’m the second most popular player and the most knowledgeable pitcher on the planet. I’m also a top 10 pitcher on the planet and willing to play for $0. That’s minimum $50M value per year that you’d get for $0. But, someone very obviously lied about me one time so, I can’t go…
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) January 28, 2025
Bauer was then asked if he believes he can still get MLB hitters out. He responded by saying there are about 20 hitters in the world that are “true competition” for him and that he would “steamroll” the rest. Hall of Fame third baseman Chipper Jones found that bold claim to be hilarious.
“The comedic aspect of this app is what I’m here for!” Jones wrote in response to Bauer.
The comedic aspect of this app is what I’m here for! https://t.co/2Fals5QTUM
— Chipper Jones (@RealCJ10) January 29, 2025
Bauer last pitched for the Dodgers in 2021. He won the NL Cy Young Award in the COVID-shortened 2020 season. He was originally suspended two years by MLB following sexual misconduct allegations from Lindsey Hill, but the suspension was reduced to 194 games by an arbitrator.
Bauer and Hill have since settled their lawsuits against one another. Bauer has said he is willing to take next to nothing to pitch in MLB again, but he still has not been offered a job.
