Bauer Signs with Atlantic League's Long Island Ducks
The Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball have signed Trevor Bauer, the 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner, to pitch for the team this season. Bauer will start the Ducks' first game on April 21 and will be mic'd up for all games and practices to create content for social media and streaming outlets. The move returns Bauer to professional baseball in the United States after stints abroad.
Bauer last appeared in a Major League Baseball game on June 28, 2021, when he pitched six innings of two-run ball with eight strikeouts for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He received a 324-game suspension, later reduced to 184 games, for violating MLB's Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy following sexual assault allegations. Bauer has maintained his innocence; he settled a case with accuser Lindsey Hill in late 2023, and she was ordered last June to pay him more than $300,000 for breaching settlement terms.
Since his MLB suspension, Bauer pitched in Japan in 2023 and 2025 with a 2.59 ERA and 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings in 2023, but a 4.41 ERA and 8.2 strikeouts per nine in 2025. He recorded a 2.48 ERA and 13.0 strikeouts per nine innings during a 2024 stint in Mexico. The Ducks have hosted players such as Dontrelle Willis, Daniel Murphy, Rich Hill and Eric Gagne; New York Mets figures Gary Carter and Bud Harrelson managed the team, with Harrelson also a part-owner.
Ducks President and Chief Business Officer Michael Pfaff said Bauer's talent will aid the club while offering him a platform to impress MLB teams. Bauer has expressed willingness to play for the league minimum and return for the second half of his career on better terms.
