At this point, it's been over four years since Trevor Bauer pitched in a Major League game. And yet, despite all that time away — and despite the multiple accusations of sexual assault that led to his suspension by MLB and eventual release by the Los Angeles Dodgers — you'll still reliably find fans on the internet clamoring for their favorite team to sign the righty and slot him into their starting rotation.
Bauer himself claimed just a few months ago that there are "like 20 hitters on the planet that are true competition for me" and that "[he'd] steamroll the rest of them". And hey, maybe that's true. But if it is, then it's one hell of a coincidence that all 20 of the best hitters on planet Earth somehow manage to keep following Bauer around wherever he pitches.
Bauer has made several stops around the baseball world, hoping to keep his name at top of mind for MLB front offices in hopes of an eventual return. Of course, his considerable baggage, both legally and otherwise, made that next to impossible without even considering how he actually pitched. But at this point, it wouldn't matter what Bauer had been accused of or who he was — because his performacne on the mound has reached rock bottom.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
Where is Trevor Bauer pitching now? Things have gotten ugly in Japan
After the conclusion of his suspension and his release by the Dodgers in January of 2023, Bauer moved on to Japan, where he signed a contract with the NPB's Yokohama Bay Stars. He pitched well that first season, with a 2.76 ERA that even ranked ahead of teammate and future Chicago Cub Shota Imanaga.
From there, though, the wheels have completely come off. Bauer spent the 2024 season pitching in Mexico, hoping to dominate decidedly overmatched competition but still getting occasionally lit up by the likes of Alcides Escobar and Angel Erro. Sure, his. 2.48 ERA for the year seemed impressive on the surface, but it came in an environment that was hard to take seriously; a 36-year-old Chris Carter led the Mexican League in slugging that season, for crying out loud.
This year, Bauer decided to step back up a notch with a return to Japan. The results have been downright comical: The now 34-year-old has posted a 4.51 ERA for the Bay Stars, the highest mark in the entire league among pitchers who have thrown at least 50 innings. Things have gotten so bad that Bauer is even getting shelled in practices against corporate teams full of industrial workers, forcing Yokohama to bump him from the active roster.
Trevor Bauer just gave up 5 runs to Nippon Express' corporate ball team in a scrimmage... https://t.co/opWXBvreRa
— Gaijin Baseball/外国人野球 (@GaijinBaseball) October 8, 2025
And really, should we actually be surprised? Bauer's reputation as a Major League star is really resting on about 12 months of pitching, from his NL Cy Young win in 2020 to his great first half with the Dodgers before getting suspended in 2021. But that Cy Young run came entirely against an offensively weak NL Central in a season shortened by COVID, and it's also ... more than a little suspicious that his ascent as an ace coincides pretty neatly with his admitted doctoring of the baseball with substances that MLB has since made illegal.
Now Bauer is trying to work his way back in his mid-30s, without the benefit of any sticky stuff, and it's going about as well as you'd expect. We can't wait to see where he ranks himself among the best pitchers in the world now.