Ex-MLB pitcher Trevor Bauer, woman who accused him of assault in 2021 settle legal dispute

Yokohama DeNA BayStars pitcher Trevor Bauer delivers a pitch against Hiroshima Carp during a baseball game in Yokohama, near Tokyo, Wednesday, May 3, 2023. (Kyodo News via AP)

LOS ANGELES — Former major league pitcher Trevor Bauer and a woman who accused him of beating and sexually assaulting her in 2021 have settled their legal dispute, Bauer's attorneys said Monday.

"Both of their respective claims have been withdrawn with prejudice, effective today," attorneys Jon Fetterolf and Shawn Holley said in a statement.

The former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher was placed on administrative leave by MLB in July 2021 after the allegations were made by the woman, who said Bauer assaulted her on two different occasions at his home in Pasadena during what she said began as consensual sexual encounters between them.

The 32-year-old Bauer denied the allegation, saying the encounters were consensual.

Prosecutors decided not to file charges in February 2022.

Bauer was suspended an unprecedented 324 games by Major League Baseball, a ban reduced to 194 games by an independent arbitrator in December 2022. After Bauer's suspension ended, the Dodgers cut him and no team picked him up. He now plays in Japan.

Bauer sued the woman, and she countersued. Their settlement calls for no exchange of money between the parties.

The woman will receive a separate US$300,000 payout from her insurance company, her attorney, Jesse Kaplan, said in a letter to Bauer's lawyers. That payment is independent of her settlement with Bauer.

"Quite frankly, regardless of the outcome in court, I've paid significantly more in legal fees than (the accuser) could ever pay me in her entire life, and I knew that would be the case going in," Bauer said in a video statement. "But the lawsuit was never about the money for me. It was the only way for me to obtain critical information to clear my name."

As part of the settlement terms, Bauer said he retained his right to speak publicly about the case.

"Now over the last two years, I've been forced to defend my integrity and my reputation in a very public setting, but hopefully this is the last time I have to do so, as I'd prefer to just remain focused on doing my job, winning baseball games and entertaining fans around the world," he said. "So today I'm happy to be moving on with my life."

Bauer faces a different accusation from an Arizona woman who alleges in a lawsuit he held a knife at her throat and choked her until she passed out during a rape that left her pregnant in late 2020.

Bauer was never arrested or charged and has countersued, denying the allegations and accusing the woman of faking a pregnancy and trying to extort money from him.

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they have been victims of sexual assault.