Controversial pitcher Trevor Bauer joins the Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers signed Trevor Bauer to the highest annual average contract in Major League Baseball History, but his past social media comments leave plenty of questions.

By Benjamin Royer, Staff Writer

Pitcher Trevor Bauer when he played for the Cleveland Indians in 2017. (Photo by Erik Grost/Flickr)

Trevor Bauer has become the highest-paid player in baseball, but many have criticized the decision as a result of the starting pitcher’s history of online harassment and transphobic comments.

Bauer signed a three-year, $102 million dollar deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Feb. 11, giving him a base salary of $40 million in 2021 and $45 million in 2022. His contract breaks the ceiling previously set by Bauer’s former UCLA teammate, Gerrit Cole, who had signed a contract with the New York Yankees in 2019 with an annual salary of $36 million. Despite the massive contract, there are mixed emotions on whether or not Bauer will be good for the ballclub.

“All the feedback we got from every organization he was with was not only incredibly positive in terms of the type of teammate he is, but also in terms of the impact he makes on each organization,” said Andrew Friedman, president of Baseball Operations for the Dodgers. “I feel like he is going to be a tremendous add not just on the field but also in the clubhouse.”

Growing up in Los Angeles, Bauer was raised a Dodger fan, attending games with his dad as a kid eagerly studying the game from the stands. He would later go on to wear the Dodger uniform nearly two decades later. Last season, Bauer became the first Cincinnati Reds player to win the Cy Young Award, the highest award a pitcher can receive.

Whether he is speaking through his merchandise brand “Bauer Outage” or athlete-driven media company “Momentum,” Bauer has always been known for being outspoken. With 423,600 followers on Twitter, the star pitcher does not hesitate to use his large audience to project his point of view on issues within the baseball community and beyond.

In one instance, Bauer taunted a woman on Twitter, suggesting that she was an alcoholic. He continued to harass the woman even after she stopped responding to him, and later went on to blame the argument on her.

When referred to as an adult male on Twitter, Bauer mockingly stated that he identified as being a 12-year-old boy, adding that people must empathize with his situation. Bauer has since deleted the tweet, which had received negative publicity for being transphobic.

“We should spread love, compassion, and educate those who say homophobic comments and have archaic attitudes,” said Kimberly Robeson, advisor of the GSA club at Valley. “It’s 2021. It’s time to be undivided.”

“Everyone makes mistakes in the past,” said Bauer in a quote from The Los Angeles Times. “I try to learn from them as quickly as I possibly can. I try to understand other peoples’ viewpoint on things and be better in the future.”