Trevor Bauer making return to baseball in the United States

This is the first United States-based team Bauer will have suited up for since 2021. Since then, he has pitched in both Japan and Mexico. He spent the 2025 season with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, where he went 4-10 with a 4.41 ERA in 133.2 innings.

Bauer has not played at the MLB level since he was suspended 324 games for violating the league’s domestic violence and sexual assault policy. That suspension was later reduced to 194 games, though no MLB team was willing to sign him after he had served the ban. Bauer faced multiple sexual assault accusations, but denied wrongdoing and was not criminally charged.

Bauer, 35, has made it clear in the past that he would make significant sacrifices to play at the MLB level again. That chance is still unlikely no matter how he does in independent ball.