Andrew Friedman has no answer on Trevor Bauer's status with Dodgers

Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers' president of baseball operations, talks to manager Dave Roberts.

Staff Writer

Oct. 27, 2021 Updated 4:14 PM PT

Andrew Friedman has two major uncertainties hanging over him entering this offseason.

One is not exclusive to the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations. All 30 front offices are unsure how Major League Baseball and the players’ union will handle negotiations when the collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1. The expectation is a lockout is imminent. Chaos could follow.

The other is a dilemma just for Friedman and his underlings: What will happen to Trevor Bauer?

MLB placed Bauer was on paid administrative leave July 2, three days after a woman accused him of sexual assault and obtained a temporary restraining order against him in Pasadena. Bauer, 30, didn’t pitch for the Dodgers for the remainder of the season.

In a news conference at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, Friedman declined to say whether Bauer will ever wear a Dodgers uniform again after signing the pitcher to a three-year, $102-million contract in February.

“It’s no different than where we were in July, August and September,” Friedman said. “From our standpoint, it’s being handled by the league office. As soon as something is decided, we will come down and talk through it extensively with you guys. But until that happens, we have to reserve comment.”

A judge denied the woman’s request for a permanent restraining order against Bauer in August. The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office is still deciding whether to charge Bauer with any crimes while MLB’s investigation into the sexual assault allegations against him is also ongoing.

The league is expected to suspend Bauer. The questions are when and for how long? Friedman said he didn’t know either answer. Bauer was paid $40 million — the highest single-season salary in MLB history — to make 17 starts in 2021.

Both answers could have an impact on the Dodgers’ offseason activity. The sooner MLB announces the ruling, the easier it makes Friedman’s job to reload a roster that fell short of repeating as World Series champions.

The length of the suspension will determine how much of Bauer’s $32-million base salary for 2022 the Dodgers must pay. The longer the suspension, the more money the Dodgers save. That cash could then be allocated to other players if not pocketed by ownership.

“It will have some [effect],” Friedman said. “The extent of it, I don’t know yet. But it’s something real and we have to figure out what that means, but it will more fall out of whatever MLB finds through their investigation and what they decide. And then we’ll have to figure out from there what makes the most sense for us.”

Trevor Bauer of the Dodgers pitches against the Rangers on June 12.

The Dodgers’ 2021 payroll was the highest in the majors, totaling $267 million, according to Spotrac.com. It was the most expensive roster in franchise history. The riches bought them 106 regular-season wins and the team’s fifth trip to the National League Championship Series in six years, but two wins shy of the pennant.

“We talked a lot in spring how we were more aggressive with our payroll this year,” Friedman said. “In some years, we’re more aggressive than others, but always having that core talent in place to go out and win. So, the No. 1 objective for us is to put ourselves in the best position to win in 2022, and I feel confident we’ll be able to do that.”

That task requires addressing starting pitching — regardless of Bauer’s status. Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer are free agents. Dustin May underwent Tommy John surgery in May. Tony Gonsolin took a step back in 2021.

The Dodgers have unproven in-house options to fill out a rotation after Walker Buehler and Julio Urías. Mitch White and Andre Jackson contributed this season. Bobby Miller, Ryan Pepiot and Landon Knack could debut in 2022. But the Dodgers figure to pursue help in free agency or via trade. When they do, Friedman said, without offering any particulars, the vetting process will improve after Bauer’s disastrous signing.

“We always want as much information as we can possibly get,” Friedman said. “There are some restrictions on what we can do, but we always want as much as we can, so I would hope that with everything we do, we’re better now than we were two years ago, five years ago, 10 years ago, and I hope five years from now we’ll be way better than we are now.

“We’re continuing to learn and evolve and learn from mistakes and continue to get better in everything we do.”