MLB owners blocked playoff teams from signing Trevor Bauer

Trevor Bauer says playoff teams wanted to sign him but were told not to.

In an interview with the Dominican YouTube page Rompiendo Sports, the 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner claimed that front-office staff, coaches and players from multiple organizations told him they wanted him back in Major League Baseball.

“We’ve talked to every team and all the baseball people, all the front office people, the GMs, the coaches, the players, they’re all, ‘Yeah, we want you. We want to sign you. We’d sign you in a heartbeat, but we’re not allowed to,’” Bauer said.

Bauer has not pitched in the majors since 2021.

He signed the largest contract by average annual value for a pitcher in MLB history with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020, a three-year, $102 million deal.

Months later, sexual assault allegations surfaced, and MLB suspended him for 324 games under the Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.

An arbitrator later reduced the suspension to 184 games, but no team has signed him since.

Bauer has maintained the allegations against him are false.

In the interview, Bauer said people on playoff teams urged their organizations to sign him during the 2026 season.

“We had people on playoff teams this past year that were like, ‘We need Trevor. Bring him in,’” Bauer said.

He claimed those employees were warned they would be fired if they raised his name again.

“And they’re like, ‘If you bring his name up again, we will fire you on the spot. Do not bring it up again,’” Bauer said.

Bauer said the opposition to his return is not limited to one or two teams.

“It’s not just one team. It’s like eight or 10 teams at this point,” he said.

He also said people from organizations he had previously played for told him they were working against his return.

“We’ve had people in organizations that I’ve been with in the past, they’re like, ‘Hey, I can’t say this publicly because I’ll lose my job. But just know they’re working against you. They’re not going to let you play again,’” Bauer said.

“So, just so you can know in your head and move on with your life, they will never let you play again.”

Bauer acknowledged that his own actions contributed to the negative attention surrounding him.

He admitted to bringing “bad media attention” upon himself with “sticky stuff and cheating scandals” and the accusations against him.

“Even though they all know it’s false,” he said, referring to the allegations.

“They don’t have to let me back, because they can hide behind if an organization signs me, it would just be too much negative media pressure. There’s nothing I can do about it.”

Bauer spent the 2026 season playing in independent baseball and in Mexico.

He is now pitching in the Dominican Republic for the Estrellas Orientales in LIDOM, the country’s professional winter league.

In a separate interview with the same outlet, Bauer also criticized former MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark.

Clark resigned on February 17, 2026, after an internal investigation revealed he had an inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law, who also worked for the union.