MLB rumors: Trevor Bauer almost signed with Mets out of guilt

Trevor Bauer signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but that very nearly wasn’t the case for all the wrong reasons.

Bauer’s final two in free agency were the Dodgers and New York Mets. Due to the NL Cy Young winner’s prominent social media status, he teased his selection via Twitter and even his own website. However, a photo was erroneously posted before Bauer’s official decision, hinting that he was choosing the Mets when the reality was quite the opposite.

Bauer is a California kid. He went to UCLA. On the surface, wanting to sign with the World Series champion Dodgers makes a lot of sense. However, due to said error, Bauer felt horrible about hurting the Mets fanbase. In the end, a conversation with his agent and a long walk to clear his head was enough to convince Bauer to stick with his gut.

MLB Free Agency: Trevor Bauer almost sign with Mets for the wrong reasons

“I started getting screenshots at one point of a Linktree thing with the ‘LFGM.’ I don’t have any say control or anything to do with that stuff. That’s all Trevor’s marketing,” Bauer’s agent Rachel Luba said on the latest Barstool Sports podcast, Starting 9.

Bauer was furious over the website error, and he rightly knew how Mets fans would react to that betrayal of trust. It’s safe to say he’s not welcome in Queens anytime soon. It’s that fear which almost forced him into a corner.

“So we get on the phone with him and he was just like, ‘It’s f—king over, I’m done. Just call the Dodgers, it’s done. It’s going to be the other team. The Mets,’” Luba continued. “So I called him back, I said, ‘Listen, I need you to be honest with me. How you reacted just now, did that have anything to do with the merch thing going up and what just happened there?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, but I can’t do that to a fanbase. The decision has been made.’”

Per advice from Luba, Bauer took more time to think over the life-changing move, and eventually, cooler heads prevailed. But one mistake (which wasn’t even of his doing) nearly cost Bauer a childhood dream. Thankfully, from the Dodgers perspective, he didn’t give into that pressure.