LIDOM: In Span of 18 Hours, Trevor Bauer Blasts MLBPA, Tony Clark In Interview and Rips Field Conditions In Santiago

Trevor Bauer hasn't pitched in Major League Baseball since 2021, plying his trade in five different leagues in four different countries since he last appeared on a big league mound, but he remains outspoken about his exile.

In an interview with Mike Rodriguez of Rompiendo Sports published on Instagram Thursday, the former Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, and Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher laced into former Major League Baseball Players' Association Executive Director Tony Clark, blaming the personal entanglements and investigation into Clark's conduct for the union's lack of support.

The interview was released the day after Bauer, who is now pitching for the Estrellas Orientales in LIDOM, the Dominican Republic's professional winter league, pitched the first two innings of a game against the Aguilas Cibaenas at Estadio Cibao in Santiago, leaving the game after complaining about the conditions of the pitching mound at the ballpark.

Speaking to Rodriguez, Bauer was asked his thoughts on the MLBPA and why they didn't advocate for his return to MLB. The UCLA alum pulled no punches.

"You've seen what problems Tony [Clark is] having right now, taking money from players and funneling it to his family members and his own problems," Bauer said. "I'd imagine he didn't really want to stand behind me because he didn't want people looking into him for what he was doing off of the field. Of course, it all came to light anyway.

"I talked to him on the phone and I was like, Tony, I am the reigning Cy Young Award winner. I signed the biggest contract in the history of the sport for a pitcher on annual average value. Like, I am at the top of the game. You guys can't come out as a union and say, 'Hey, Trevor Bauer should be playing Major League Baseball?' And he said, 'No, we can't make that statement because if we support you, we're inadvertently not supporting a player whose job you would take," Bauer claimed.

Clark, who played 15 Major League seasons before serving as the MLBPA's executive director from 2012, when he took over after the death of Michael Weiner, until he resigned on Feb. 17, 2026, after an internal investigation revealed Clark had an inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law, who also worked for the union.

After Bauer said Clark told him the union wouldn't stand by him, Bauer said he questioned the former union head about why the union exists in the first place, saying, 'Like, Tony, I'm the best pitcher in the game right now. I would have a job if not for this. I would take someone's spot. You can't support me?'"

"He goes, 'No, we can't support you. We won't put a statement out.' And it's like, 'OK, so what the fuck is the point of the union? If you're not going to support the best player in the game, like, what are you there to do? Steal money from players and give it to your family members and take it for yourself? Like, what is the union supposed to do. Like, protect players?'"

At the time of Clark's resignation from the MLBPA, the union was under investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, which was touched off after a whistleblower's complaint to the National Labor Relations Board alleging self-dealing, misuse of resources, abuse of power and nepotism, according to a Feb. 16 story by ESPN's Jeff Passan and Don Van Natta.

Bauer’s outspoken and outsized personality has made him a lightning rod around baseball, as have the allegations of sexual violence that led to him receiving a 324-game suspension, later reduced to 192 games, under Major League Baseball’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Child Abuse Policy.

Bauer has repeatedly denied the allegations and has never been indicted, arrested, or convicted of a crime related to the accusations that have dogged him. The results of MLB’s investigation that led to Bauer’s record suspension have never been released, as the results of investigations under the policy are confidential.

Thus far, Bauer has made two starts for the Estrellas Orientales in his first foray into winter ball, throwing seven innings and allowing two earned runs on two hits, walking eight and striking out six. After going five innings in his first start, he pitched two innings amid light rain before slipping multiple times on the mound while warming up for the bottom of the third and while facing Mason McCoy, who led off the inning for the Aguilas.

Bauer said he repeatedly asked for a drying agent to be applied to the mound by the umpires, but they didn't direct the grounds crew to do so until he had fallen behind McCoy with a 3-1 count. By that point, the rain had intensified, resulting in an 80-minute rain delay that chased Bauer from the game.

In a post on the social media network X, BaseballBros tweeted the video of Bauer slipping on the mound and complaining to the umpires, saying, "Trevor Bauer hasn't seen big league action in over half a decade, but that doesn't stop him from complaining to everyone within earshot about the inferior mound conditions in the Dominican Republic. Once a big baby, always a big baby."

Bauer fired back, reposting BaseballBros post with a lengthy missive, firing back with a 418-word missive recounting the conditions and his complaints, stating that when he fell behind McCoy with a 3-1 count, "after the fourth pitch I refused to throw any more pitches because I was not willing to tear a hamstring or groin or knee in those conditions. So finally the umpire crew asked the grounds crew to apply drying agent. At the same time, they correctly decided it was raining way too hard to continue playing so they pulled the tarp."

The Estrellas ended up winning the game 12-7, with Bauer getting a no-decision.