The Atlanta Braves need starting pitching help, but one option is already off the table. Before we really dive way too deep into an interaction on social media, no, there wasn’t known interest between Atlanta and Trevor Bauer. While Bauer is interested in an MLB return and has pitched in every league and platform that would allow him to do so in hopes of catching an executive’s eye, he hasn’t been worth the baggage – at least not yet.
What baggage, you might ask? Bauer has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women (though one was indicted for fraud). He sued reporters for defamation only to later have that case dropped. On the field, he was involved in a pitch-doctoring controversy, using far too much resin to improve his grip, which he even helped bring to light back in 2020. His political views and social media platforms are well within reason, but also…less than ideal at times. While not all of these matters resulted in a lack of performance from Bauer, some did limit his time on the field.
Bauer signed with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars just a few days ago in what will be his second NPB stint. For now, he seems content in doing just that, though a recent social media rant suggests he’d be open to an MLB return. Bauer claimed he’s one of the top-10 pitchers on the planet, and that only 20 or so MLB hitters would be competition for him at the plate. He even said he was the second-most popular player on the planet.
Chipper Jones…disagreed.
Lmfao pic.twitter.com/Tn55RTkqJg
— Tipping Pitches (@tipping_pitches) January 29, 2025
Chipper Jones make painfully clear the Braves are never signing Trevor Bauer
Chipper isn’t heavily involved with the Braves baseball operations department, but was hired as a hitting consultant in both 2021 and 2023. He’s not around the park everyday, but makes a cameo appearance every now and then to help the Braves hitters and talk baseball with the front office. It’s an ideal role for a franchise icon of his stature.
So, when Jones says the Braves wouldn’t consider signing Bauer these days, it means more than you or I making that claim. While I would give Bauer the benefit of the doubt that he could make the Braves big-league roster at his best, the difference in competition between NPB, Mexican league and MLB is a wide gap.
A few years ago, Bauer was one of the best pitchers in baseball, but he hasn’t thrown any MLB innings in quite some time. Considering him anything more than back-end rotation depth at this juncture is unwise, and is back-end rotation depth really worth all that comes with Bauer?
