Trevor Bauer Says Agents ‘Were Told No’ by Pirates

Trevor Bauer is looking for an opportunity to return to Major League Baseball, but it doesn’t look like a potential chance will come with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“From what I was told, my agents spoke to them and were told no. That was before they signed (Aroldis) Chapman though so maybe something has changed? I don’t know,” Bauer posted on Twitter/X.

The 33-year-old pitched in the big leagues from 2012-21, but was suspended for 324 games under the league’s, joint domestic, sexual assault and child abuse policy. Bauer’s suspension was ultimately reduced to 194 games.

Chapman, who was signed to a one-year deal by the Pirates, was suspended 30 games in 2016 under the same policy.

With none of the 30 teams interested in signing Bauer last winter, the right-hander spent the 2023 season pitching in Japan in Nippon Professional Baseball.

Over the course of the current offseason, Bauer has been trying to land another job in the major leagues, and recently said he would sign a league-minimum contract if necessary. Even so, Bauer remains a free agent on the open market.

In his 10 seasons as a major leaguer, Bauer has spent time with the Arizona Diamondbacks, the then-Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers. He’s gone 83-69 with a 3.79 ERA across 222 appearances/212 starts. Bauer won the National League Cy Young while with the Reds in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and was an All-Star in 2018 with Cleveland.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are still searching for an additional starting rotation upgrade after bringing in left-handers Marco Gonzales and Martín Pérez this winter.

Among the remaining free agents still available in addition to Bauer include Michael Lorenzen, Mike Clevinger, Noah Syndergaard and others. Two top options in Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery are also available, but neither fit the Pirates’ budget constraints.