2K24: Los Angeles Dodgers

[Ken]

I dont want to belabor this point too much but the reason no criminal charges were filed wasnt necessarily because the actions werent reprehensible enough. It was because they didnt think they had a good enough chance to get a conviction. Big difference between those 2 things. Probably a similar situation in the Kobe case.

How many games did Kobe miss?

[rhd]

I agree, seems like it would be a huge issue for the players union if mlb could just decide to restrict a player with no charges and no pending charges against him. That would be a bad precedent for them to allow, as terrible as this individual person/act is.

The issue is the Dodgers, not MLB, restricting Bauer. But let's say your point is the same if it's the Dodgers' restriction. Do they play him which will unleash a ton of negative publicity on them? Do they cut him while continuing to pay him and he gets signed by another team, maybe one of the Dodgers' competitors?

[Ken]

The issue is the Dodgers, not MLB, restricting Bauer. But let's say your point is the same if it's the Dodgers' restriction. Do they play him which will unleash a ton of negative publicity on them? Do they cut him while continuing to pay him and he gets signed by another team, maybe one of the Dodgers' competitors?

You may have missed above, the Dodgers can’t restrict him without mlb’s approvsl

[revo]

Can they do what the Texans did with Watson?
Pay him, don't play him. On 40-man but not Major league roster?
Or some sort of administrative leave so he can't sign with another team?

Also, in addition to the above, Watson was indeed on the Texans 53-man gameday roster all season long. If Bauer is not allowed to be placed on the restricted list, I can't see the Dodgers keeping him on the 25-man roster and not using him. That would handicap them all season long (the Texans didn't care, they knew they were going nowhere).

[revo]

Those examples are from football. I can't think of another case of such a divisive player before the incident, once not liked by many of his teammates, have a violent assault like this with photos, being welcomed back to the team. My hunch is that some teams would be willing to take on the toxicity of him, because of the talent, but that the Dodgers are one of the few teams that just do not need to, so I would be surprised if he ends up pitching for the Dodgers again.

Here's just some baseball players who have come back (or will soon be back) from assault cases over the years. And these are just documented cases, I'm sure many teams knew about many, many more issues that they swept under the rug with many other players:

Kirby Puckett
Julio Urias
Aroldis Chapman
Domingo German
Jose Reyes
Jeurys Familia
Addison Russell
Odubel Herrera
Starlin Castro
Marcell Ozuna
Omar Vizquel
Milton Bradley
Brett Myers
Pedro Astacio
Wil Cordero
Julio Lugo
Dante Bichette

Is it right? Hell no. It's terrible. But my point is that if the Dodgers release Bauer, paying off $64m to have him not play, you know some other team will pick him right up, just like they did in the NFL. As my buddy said, you can almost see Bauer mowing down the Dodgers lineup in a Giants or Padres uniform while the Dodgers are paying him his salary.

So unless MLB does something, I don't believe the Dodgers will do much either. Maybe a 10 or 20 game suspension.

The sport should be better than this, but until it is, the teams should play within the rules.

[Pauly]

Here's just some baseball players who have come back (or will soon be back) from assault cases over the years. And these are just documented cases, I'm sure many teams knew about many, many more issues that they swept under the rug with many other players:

Kirby Puckett
Julio Urias
Aroldis Chapman
Domingo German
Jose Reyes
Jeurys Familia
Addison Russell
Odubel Herrera
Starlin Castro
Marcell Ozuna
Omar Vizquel
Milton Bradley
Brett Myers
Pedro Astacio
Wil Cordero
Julio Lugo
Dante Bichette

Is it right? Hell no. It's terrible. But my point is that if the Dodgers release Bauer, paying off $64m to have him not play, you know some other team will pick him right up, just like they did in the NFL. As my buddy said, you can almost see Bauer mowing down the Dodgers lineup in a Giants or Padres uniform while the Dodgers are paying him his salary.

So unless MLB does something, I don't believe the Dodgers will do much either. Maybe a 10 or 20 game suspension.

The sport should be better than this, but until it is, the teams should play within the rules.

Roberto Osuna needs to be on this list. He got a 75 game suspension and came back to play for HOU.

[ThatRogue]

The facts weren't reprehensible enough to warrant criminal charges. I don't want to do down this road. My point is, the league will impose what they feel is warranted so I'm not sure they'll allow the Dodgers to go beyond that.

I'd like to make a quick point of clarification: Prosecutors did not file criminal charges because they did not feel they had enough evidence to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt...not because the facts were not reprehensible enough to warrant criminal charges.

[revo]

Roberto Osuna needs to be on this list. He got a 75 game suspension and came back to play for HOU.

Yup, I forgot he came back after that. I thought he was done after the charges came out, so yeah, him too.

[Sour Masher]

Here's just some baseball players who have come back (or will soon be back) from assault cases over the years. And these are just documented cases, I'm sure many teams knew about many, many more issues that they swept under the rug with many other players:

Kirby Puckett
Julio Urias
Aroldis Chapman
Domingo German
Jose Reyes
Jeurys Familia
Addison Russell
Odubel Herrera
Starlin Castro
Marcell Ozuna
Omar Vizquel
Milton Bradley
Brett Myers
Pedro Astacio
Wil Cordero
Julio Lugo
Dante Bichette

Is it right? Hell no. It's terrible. But my point is that if the Dodgers release Bauer, paying off $64m to have him not play, you know some other team will pick him right up, just like they did in the NFL. As my buddy said, you can almost see Bauer mowing down the Dodgers lineup in a Giants or Padres uniform while the Dodgers are paying him his salary.

So unless MLB does something, I don't believe the Dodgers will do much either. Maybe a 10 or 20 game suspension.

The sport should be better than this, but until it is, the teams should play within the rules.

Thanks for the depressing list--I'd forgotten many of these, which supports your point. But my point isn't so much about what the Dodgers should do, but what they will do. Maybe you are right that fan and teammate sentiments won't be enough to compel the Dodgers to cut bait on so much money and talent. I just think the Dodgers really do not want Bauer anymore and they will explore all options to get him off the team. If you are right that most teams will have the attitude that Bauer will have served his league suspension, like many before him, and then he is fair game, the market for him won't be as soft as I think, so the Dodgers would not have to give him away while paying most of his salary. They would have options, including making sure he ends up in the AL, on a team bad enough that they don't have to worry about facing him in the WS. We won't know how it plays out for awhile, but if I had to bet, I'd bet the Dodgers get rid of him, if they can.

[Pauly]

Yup, I forgot he came back after that. I thought he was done after the charges came out, so yeah, him too.

Not only that, there was a huge Bauer-like outcry against the Astros for ever putting him back on the field. And then he pitched throughout the playoffs and in the World Series (albeit he was pretty crappy).

[Todd Zola]

I'd like to make a quick point of clarification: Prosecutors did not file criminal charges because they did not feel they had enough evidence to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt...not because the facts were not reprehensible enough to warrant criminal charges.

The allegations were reprehensible. No one, except two people, know the facts.

[revo]

Thanks for the depressing list--I'd forgotten many of these, which supports your point. But my point isn't so much about what the Dodgers should do, but what they will do. Maybe you are right that fan and teammate sentiments won't be enough to compel the Dodgers to cut bait on so much money and talent. I just think the Dodgers really do not want Bauer anymore and they will explore all options to get him off the team. If you are right that most teams will have the attitude that Bauer will have served his league suspension, like many before him, and then he is fair game, the market for him won't be as soft as I think, so the Dodgers would not have to give him away while paying most of his salary. They would have options, including making sure he ends up in the AL, on a team bad enough that they don't have to worry about facing him in the WS. We won't know how it plays out for awhile, but if I had to bet, I'd bet the Dodgers get rid of him, if they can.

I just think the team believes they're doing the "right thing" by releasing the guy, and then guess what, another team thinks "wow, this is a stud who will put us over the top, he served his time, our fans will forgive us." It's happened time and time again in every sport.

[rhd]

You may have missed above, the Dodgers can’t restrict him without mlb’s approvsl

You may have missed above where I said that I didnt see why MLB would not approve the Dodgers restricting Bauer in such a case. But if MLB doesnt approve the restriction out of fear of upsetting the MLBPA, then it would seem the Dodgers would be almost forced to play him. Is MLB willing to take the PR hit for not letting Bauer be restricted when they're trying to present the image of being tough on violence against women? Bauer pitching could be a major embarrassment for both the Dodgers and MLB. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm not so sure MLB wouldnt rather take the hit from the MLBPA being upset.

[GwynnInTheHall]

The allegations were reprehensible. No one, except two people, know the facts.

And one was unconscious...

[Sour Masher]

The allegations were reprehensible. No one, except two people, know the facts.

That is not entirely true. We know his accuser "suffered significant head and facial trauma" from the medical report and from the photos. We also know that she and Bauer engaged in rough sexual activity that reports indicate were consensual that very likely led to the trauma in the medical report that was filed right after the second encounter. You are right that we do not know if Bauer sexually assaulted his accuser after she was unconscious and, therefore, could no longer give consent, and because of the wide ranging consent his accuser gave before hand and the many text messages she sent affirming that consent and her desire for rough sexual activity that it is next to impossible for prosecutors to secure a conviction.

That all protects Bauer legally, but the accusations that Bauer went too far, coupled with the facts we do know--that significant injuries were sustained, along with photos highlighting those injuries'--bruises, swelling, scratches--makes Bauer a villainous figure in the eyes of many (though, I know many are celebrating the fact that he is not being prosecuted and angry that he had to sit out last year).

Even if one accepts Bauer's side of the story completely, many still see a man who gets off on engaging in extremely abusive and demeaning sex with women. We now live in a society where kink shaming is frowned upon to an extent, but a lot of folks will still have trouble rooting for Bauer, which I think is always a factor in assessing the risk/reward of rostering players like this. Bauer has a lot of talent, so the tolerance is higher for him than a lesser player. But while we do not know if the most reprehensible accusations from his accuser are true, we do know enough facts for Bauer to not be someone a lot of people want to root for. I am sure lots of teams would still take him on, but I guess time will tell if the Dodgers are one of them. They have financial flexibility a lot of teams don't.