Former Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer says he would "love a second opportunity to do things better" and make a return to Major League Baseball after sexual assault allegations halted his career, leading to a long suspension and eventual release from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Bauer, who played baseball in Japan last year, told Fox News on Thursday that he was "reckless" and "made a lot of mistakes along the way."
He has not pitched in the majors since June 2021, when a San Diego-area woman accused him of sexually assaulting her. Allegations from two other women followed, and Bauer was given a 324-game suspension that eventually was reduced by an arbitrator to 194 games. The Dodgers released him in January 2023.
Bauer has denied the allegations, saying they were consensual encounters. He and the San Diego woman have settled their civil lawsuits outside of court, but he still has an active civil case against a woman in Arizona.
"I agreed to do things I shouldn't have done," Bauer said in a television interview on Fox News' "America's Newsroom." "It was reckless. It hurt a lot of people along the way. It made things very difficult for Major League Baseball, for the Dodgers, my teammates, friends, family, people close to me. So I've done a lot of reflecting on that and made a lot of changes in my life to address that."
Asked if he was apologizing for his actions, Bauer said, "I'm certainly taking accountability for my role in this. I've put myself in a lot of positions that have made things very hard for people, and I'm trying to be better."
Bauer recently opted for free agency after finishing his one-year contract with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. He said he believes he is "still one of the best pitchers in the world" and that he and his agent have spoken with "a lot of different teams" about a potential return to the majors.
"I'd love to play baseball. I mean, that's my goal, is to play baseball here in the United States," Bauer said. "I'm still one of the best pitchers in the world. I'd like to compete at the highest level. I'm also really passionate about helping people, being good for the game. I think I've done a lot of damage, unfortunately, in the first half of my career, and I'd love a second opportunity to do things better."