Latest court ruling could speed up MLB’s Trevor Bauer decision?

Trevor Bauer has been on paid administrative leave since the middle of last season, but Major League Baseball could be getting closer to making a decision about whether the Los Angeles Dodgers star will be suspended.

A judge on Monday denied Bauer’s request to access the cell phone records of one of the women who accused him of sexual assault, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. The woman’s request for a restraining order had already been denied and prosecutors declined to file charges against Bauer. In subsequent court filings, Bauer’s legal team argued that the woman’s cell phone records could show she tried to execute “a plan to seek rough sex so she could later seek to profit.”

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman denied the request. She said Bauer’s attorneys did not file the motion in time for her to consider the request. Even if they did, Gould-Saltman said she is skeptical of how the woman’s cell phone records could help Bauer’s argument that the accuser should pay his legal fees. Bauer’s legal team submitted a filing back in October seeking to have the woman cover the MLB star’s legal costs.

As Shaikin notes, the cell phone records could have, in theory, helped Bauer share his side of the events with MLB investigators. Now that he will not have access to them, that could speed up the process of the league making a ruling.

Bauer is in the second year of a three-year, $102-million contract. He has been on paid leave for 10 months. The 31-year-old recently filed a defamation lawsuit related to his sexual assault case.

Photo: Mar 6, 2021; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer against the San Diego Padres during a Spring Training game at Camelback Ranch Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports