Jeff Passan has an article up on the ESPN website that is very worth reading: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/32119416/will-trevor-bauer-ever-pitch-again-next-los-angeles-dodgers-mlb
Reading it also prevents me from delving too deeply into this case myself. What Bauer did/is alleged to have done is disgusting. He has been on administrative leave, paid leave, since the story broke two months ago. There is no way he pitches again this year.
I have no doubt Passan is correct in predicting Bauer will fight every aspect—not just possible legal charges if they happen, but any suspension, any effort to terminate his contract for cause. Doing otherwise would be a big departure from his history. He is nothing if not always ready for a confrontation.
I also think he will never pitch in baseball again. It’s possible the Dodgers ultimately have no choice but to pay him. However, there are players who never want to see him in their clubhouse again, and the number of fans protesting would be legion. No other team is going to want the s—-storm PR hit for signing him either. He is a pariah. He deserves to be a pariah. Playing baseball is a privilege and not a right. It’s also an entertainment industry. Teams and MLB have every right to not hire someone who is deemed to be not worthy based on behavior. Fans have every right to shout “Oh, hell no!” if any team gets the idea that his pitching prowess does make him worth the risk.
Fan Interference 
The main point here is that how Bauer is treated should have nothing to do with the fact that he is an enormously talented baseball player. He should be treated the same as a janitor accused of the same. If he is guilty of what he has been charged with he should share a prison cell with some other scumbag. And like the janitor he should not be paid for any shifts he can’t show up for because he is a scumbag locked up in a prison cell. The judgements of MLB or MLB fans should have nothing to do with it.
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It’s both ways—yes, if he gets charged and found guilty, he should face the same legal consequences a non-famous person would. At the same time, even if they DA decides not to press charges, it doesn’t and shouldn’t let him off the hook with MLB.
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You’re right, but we both know it will be all about the money, which is the main thing wrong with MLB. How many fans will decide that they can no longer be emotionally invested invested in a team with a probable scum ball abuser, willing to buy tickets and 10 dollar hot dogs.
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