The Diablos Rojos del Mexico of the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol have purchased the contract of 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer from the Long Island Ducks, bringing the righty back to Mexico City, the site of his most successful season after departing Major League Baseball.
With Long Island, which plays in the independent Atlantic League, Bauer had a 2.36 ERA, 66 strikeouts and seven walks in 42 innings across seven starts for the Ducks. He tossed a seven-inning no-hitter on April 26 at Lancaster and set a franchise record, striking out 15 on May 12 outing vs. Gastonia. Bauer was named the Atlantic League’s April/May Pitcher of the Month.
Bauer is expected to make his first start for the Diablos Rojos on July 3 at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu in Mexico City when the Diablos face the Piratas de Campeche. With a 37-20 record, the Diablos Rojos sit atop the LMB’s Zona Sur as they seek a third consecutive LMB championship.
In 2024, Bauer won the LMB’s Pitcher of the Year award after going 10-0 with an ERA of 2.48 in 83 1/3 innings pitched and leading the league in strikeouts with 120. He also tied for the league lead in wins with 10, was second in ERA, second in WHIP at 1.04, and second in batting average against, with opposing batters hitting .216 against him.
He also struck out nine consecutive batters on April 21, 2024 against the Bravos de León, a league record he shares with José Ramón López of the Sultanes de Monterrey, who accomplished the feat in in 1964 and with Gary Williams of the Alijadores de Tampico in 1979.
Later that season, on June 21 against the Guerreros de Oaxaca, Bauer claimed the record for most strikeouts in a game of nine innings with 19, besting the prior record of 18 that was held by Baseball Hall of Famer Martín Dihigo, as well as Lino Donoso and Ricardo Sandate.
Last season, Bauer pitched for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in Nippon Professional Baseball, posting a 4.51 ERA and a 4-10 record in 133 2/3 innings over 21 appearances.
Before playing abroad, he won the 2020 National League Cy Young Award while pitching for the Cincinnati Reds. He was later the recipient of the longest suspension issued under MLB’s domestic violence policy, having been slapped with a 324-game ban in 2021 that was later reduced to 192 games after multiple women accused him of violence during sexual encounters. When the suspension ended, Bauer, who was then under contract to the Los Angeles Dodgers, was designated for assignment and then released six days later.
While Bauer has never been arrested, charged, or convicted of a crime related to the allegations, and one of his accusers has been charged with defrauding the former Major Leaguer, Bauer has not returned to MLB.
Photo: Trevor Bauer celebrates during his 13-strikeout performance against Oaxaca in game five of the Serie de Campeonato. (Photo courtesy of the Diablos Rojos del Mexico)
