For the first time since Trevor Bauer was released from the Los Angeles Dodgers, president and CEO Stan Kasten addressed the decision to designate the troubled Cy Young Award winner.
"You know, this wasn't unanimous out in the real world - among fans, among the media or whatnot," Kasten told a small group of local reporters Wednesday. "But the decision we reached was unanimous among the people that are charged with having to make this decision."
Major League Baseball suspended Bauer for 324 games in April 2022 for violating the domestic violence policy, but was reinstated after serving 194-games on Dec. 22 by an independent arbitrator. The Dodgers had two weeks to decide whether they would put him back on their roster or release him.
"I'm not going to get into contradicting or agreeing with anything about what was supposed to be a private conversation," Kasten said when asked about Bauer's claim that the club wanted him to return to the team this year. "I'll just say within a very short time we came back and made our decision. I think that speaks for itself."
"I don't want to talk about what went on, what was discussed, what wasn't discussed or who was there," Kasten said. "But we did hear from him. I thought it was the right thing to do. I'm happy that we did it, along with everything else that we did, to reach the best decision that we could. I stand by our decision. I'm very comfortable with it."
By releasing Bauer, who remains a free agent, the Dodgers are responsible for about $22.5 million of his $32 million salary for 2023.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dodgers address 'unanimous' decision to get rid of Trevor Bauer
