Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts expects pitcher Trevor Bauer to be out beyond the seven-day administrative leave imposed by Major League Baseball slated to end Friday.
Bauer was placed on leave last Friday, three days after an allegation of assault was made by a woman against him. MLB and police are investigating the incident.
The administrative leave — during which a player is paid but cannot play — has been extended for players under the policy in the past.
Roberts expressed doubts about Bauer returning as soon as Friday before the Dodgers opened a four-game series against the Miami Marlins on Monday.
The leave was imposed under the joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy adopted by MLB and the players’ union in 2015 and can be the initial step leading to a longer suspension.
A protection order against Bauer was obtained under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act and was the result of an assault by him that left the woman who sought the order with “severe physical and emotional pain,” Marc Garelick, the woman’s attorney, said last week.
The protection order includes multiple graphic images from the woman who filed the request, according to The Athletic. The woman, in the 67-page ex-parte document, said Bauer assaulted her on two different occasions. Together, the woman said those two incidents included Bauer punching her in the face and body, sticking his fingers down her throat, and strangling her to the point where she lost consciousness multiple times, according to the document.
The alleged assaults described by the woman happened during what she said began as consensual sexual encounters between the two. According to the woman’s declaration attached to the request and obtained by The Athletic, she suffered injuries as a result of the second encounter, including two black eyes, a bloodied swollen lip, significant bruising and scratching to one side of her face.
Bauer’s agents John Fetterolf and Rachel Luba have denied the accuser’s allegations.
The 30-year-old Bauer joined his hometown Dodgers this year with a $102 million, three-year contract. He is 8-5 with a 2.59 ERA. Bauer made his last start on June 28, when he pitched six innings and defeated the San Francisco Giants 3-2.
