WASHINGTON — Major League Baseball placed Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer on paid administrative leave Friday after a woman accused him of assault and obtained a temporary restraining order Tuesday.
Bauer traveled with the Dodgers to Washington on Wednesday. He was scheduled to pitch Sunday against the Washington Nationals.
Under MLB’s domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy, Commissioner Rob Manfred can place Bauer on paid administrative leave for seven days. The league can only extend the leave beyond seven days in agreement with the players’ union.
An MLB spokesperson said the league is investigating the allegation. Under the league’s policy, the league can suspend a player even if he is not charged with a crime. Players have been suspended from 15 games up to a season since the policy was implemented in 2015.
The woman’s report, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, included private messages she and Bauer exchanged on Instagram that evolved into two sexual encounters at Bauer’s home. She said she was choked and lost consciousness during both encounters. She said she was hit in the face during the second encounter.
“I agreed to have consensual sex, however, I did not agree or consent to what he did next,” she wrote in a court declaration. “I did not agree to be sexually assaulted.”
Jon Fetterolf, an agent representing Bauer, denied the allegations in a statement Tuesday, declaring that the encounters were consensual.
“Any allegations that the pair’s encounters were not 100% consensual are baseless, defamatory, and will be refuted to the fullest extent of the law,” part of Fetterolf’s statement read.
A hearing in the case is set for July 23.
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