Talk about controversy. Are there many MLB players more divisive than Trevor Bauer? Or at least, were they over the past few years? At this point, though, has Bauer sufficiently faded from relevance and done his time that it really doesn’t matter?

I’m not looking to relitigate the terrible things that Bauer was accused of. For our purposes, Bauer wasn’t convicted of anything, and that is in the past. Based on the accusations and allegations, that’s not going to be enough for some people, and that’s a perfectly reasonable stance which shouldn’t be criticized; we do have to follow our legal system.

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Bauer through the years:

However, Bauer has already proven himself to be too toxic for a major league organization. Regardless of your personal beliefs, at this point, Bauer is 35 years old, and unless he proves otherwise, pitching for an independent league team is where he belongs.

When we last saw Bauer in the MLB, he was still a dominant pitcher. That, though, was in 2021 as Bauer had a 2.59 ERA in 107.2 innings with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Since then, Bauer’s career has looked similar to that of Kenny Powers.

Pitching last year in Japan, Bauer had a 4.51 ERA in 133.2 innings with a 3.55 FIP. He struck out 8.01 batters per nine innings, and while the level of competition isn’t the same, we have seen plenty of pitchers return from Japan and Korea and regain major league success.

Current competition:

The level of competition certainly varies in the Atlantic League, but the Long Island Ducks have proven to be a solid organization. There are plenty of players who have used their stint with the Ducks to jumpstart a path back to affiliated baseball.

In a distant suburb, about an hour and a half outside of New York City, the Ducks offer Bauer the perfect opportunity to try and reclaim what’s left of his MLB career.

At the end of the day, this is a performance-based industry. Even in his prime, though, one of the knocks against Bauer is that he wasn’t the best of teammates. But if he can get results, we know that pitching is always needed. And perhaps, being out of the MLB since 2021 has humbled the right-hander.

Pitching for the ducks:

Bauer still has a vast social media presence and following, and he can’t let it be a distraction. Pitching for the Ducks, though, is the best of both worlds for Bauer. They put together a solid product on the field, it’s a fair level of competition, and attendance is strong. However, it’s also far enough away from the spotlight to not cause many problems.

And from the Ducks perspective, they get a former All-Star who will drive attendance and attention. At this point, there is nothing left to lose. Bauer will never be a sympathetic figure, but this could be the start of an interesting journey.