Trevor Bauer will face the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a traveling club from Japan in his bid to return to Major League Baseball. That move has apparently drawn an interesting reaction from the Dodgers behind the scenes.
The Dodgers anticipate facing Bauer on Sunday as part of an organized game involving their minor leaguers. Bauer will be there as a member of the Asian Breeze, a Japanese traveling team that plays spring games against various minor leaguers in a bid to get their players noticed by pro scouts.
The Dodgers were not expecting to face Bauer and have not encouraged the appearance, according to Jack Harris and Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. Some thought was given to canceling the game, but the team opted against it, deciding that doing so would simply draw more attention to the situation.
The Breeze are the ones who decide which games Bauer will pitch in. However, that has not stopped some within the Dodgers of writing off Bauer’s planned appearance as a publicity stunt.
Bauer has previously faced allegations of sexual assault, which he has denied. He was ultimately suspended for 194 games over the allegations, and the Dodgers released him once he was eligible to return. No MLB team has been willing to sign him despite his efforts, forcing him to spend last season in Japan. He has aggressively tried to return to the United States, but so far, nobody appears interested.
