Trevor Bauer’s paid administrative leave from the Dodgers was extended Friday through Sept. 3, according to a league official. It’s the seventh time Major League Baseball and the players union have done so since Bauer was accused of sexual assault in late June. His leave was scheduled to expire Friday.
Bauer remains under investigation by MLB and the Pasadena Police Department. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Aug. 19 denied a request for a permanent restraining order against Bauer from the San Diego woman who accused him of assault.
The Dodgers signed Bauer to a three-year, $102 million contract last offseason, the largest contract ever for a pitcher. The Cy Young Award winner last season with the Cincinnati Reds, Bauer was 8-5 with a 2.59 ERA over 17 starts with the Dodgers.
His last start was June 28, the day before his accuser filed for a temporary restraining order that laid out her accusations. She alleges that he punched her while she was unconscious during a sexual encounter May 17. They also had sex April 21, although she says that encounter was consensual.
Bauer’s attorneys say that everything that occurred during the two encounters at Bauer’s Pasadena home were “wholly consensual.”
TWINS: Center fielder Byron Buxton was reinstated from the injured list after missing 55 games while his broken left pinky finger healed.
Buxton played in only three games after returning June 19 from a strained right hip that kept him out for 39 games.
The Twins also announced that right-hander Kenta Maeda will have season-ending elbow surgery performed Wednesday in Texas by orthopedist Dr. Keith Meister, the team physician for the Rangers.
The Tommy John ligament replacement procedure, which would likely keep Maeda out for 2022, is one of several options under consideration, Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli said.
WHITE SOX: Chicago reinstated catcher Yasmani Grandal from the 10-day injured list before Friday night’s series opener against the crosstown Cubs.
Grandal had been sidelined since he tore a tendon in his left knee July 5 at Minnesota. The switch-hitter batted .303 (10 for 33) with a homer and three RBI over 11 games on a minor league rehab assignment.
The two-time All-Star is batting just .188 in 63 games this year, but he has 14 homers, 38 RBI and a .388 on-base percentage, his highest OBP since his rookie year and well above his career average of .351.
ASTROS: Veteran utility player Marwin Gonzalez signed a minor league contract with Houston and began working out at the team’s spring training camp in Florida, two weeks after being designated for assignment by Boston.
Gonzalez began his 10-season big league career with the Astros from 2012-18. He hit .202 with two homers and 20 RBI in 77 games for the Red Sox this season.
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