Starting pitcher Trevor Bauer, the most sought-after arm on the market, agreed to terms Friday with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The news was first broke on Twitter by Jon Heyman and later confirmed when Bauer tweeted an announcement video from his YouTube channel. The contract pays Bauer $102 million over three seasons. He will receive $40 million in 2021 and $45 million in 2022, but he can opt out after each season. He turned down more money to go to the New York Mets in order to return to his native Southern California.
Bauer, 30 in January, was NL’s top pitcher in 2020, winning the Cy Young award. A 1.73 ERA. 0.795 WHIP and 2.7 WAR were among the very best marks in the MLB. Bauer spent 2020 with the Cincinnati Reds and helped lead them to their first playoff appearance since 2013. Since his debut in 2012, Bauer has compiled a 75-64 record with a 3.90 ERA, 1.265 WHIP, 1,279 strikeouts, and a 17.7 WAR in nine seasons between the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Indians, and Reds.
https://twitter.com/BauerOutage/status/1357779290322923521
The Upside
Bauer is in the middle of his prime and creates a big addition to the club. His presence in the rotation will certainly help out as the Dodgers look to repeat as World Series champions. In the Reds’ Wild Card Series, Bauer struck out 12 in 7 2/3, allowing no earned runs. His rise to stardom was slow, but he made the most of it. His 2020 was excellent and his timing was immaculate, as there are little to no other big-name arms on the market. Bauer went at least six innings in every one of his starts in 2020 and allowed more than four earned runs once.
The Downside
While he is floating around 30, his age has yet to catch up with him. He does seem to have a pitch count issue. He threw two complete games in 2020, but he averaged roughly 106 pitches per game across the entire season. His pitch count did not seem to affect him much, as he was still dominant in games when he threw over 100 pitches in less than eight innings. Walks are not a major issue, but he did allow at least one walk in 10 of his 11 starts. Home runs were another mild issue, giving up nine in 73 innings, which would roughly equal 20-25 in a 200 inning season.
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