Trevor Bauer agrees to join LA Dodgers on a three-year $40m deal as MLB star pitcher snubs New York Mets after leaving Cincinnati Reds in free agency

Reigning MLB champions Los Angeles Dodgers made a major splash on Friday by agreeing to a deal with reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer, who announced the move on his YouTube page.

Jon Heyman confirmed that ‘Bauer agreed to a three-year deal worth a record $40million (£29m) in 2021 and $45m (£32.7m) in 2022, with an option to opt-out in 2023’.

Widely considered the top free agent pitcher available this off-season, Bauer reportedly narrowed his decision to the Dodgers and the New York Mets.

The Mets are understood to have given Bauer a deadline of Friday to make a decision – which he did, but not in the Mets favour.

After posting a league-leading 1.73 ERA (Earned Run Average) in 11 starts with the Cincinnati Reds in the shortened 2020 season.

Bauer joins a loaded Dodgers pitching roster that includes Clayton Kershaw (a three-time NL Cy Young winner) and Walker Buehler.

Earlier in the week, Buehler publicly endorsed the idea of signing Bauer: ‘It’s hard to say we wouldn’t want that guy around. I hope he finds his way into some blue.’

A Southern California native who played in college for UCLA, Bauer was drafted third overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2011 and made his MLB debut after being traded to the Cleveland Indians in December 2012.

Adding Bauer will only help the Dodgers ambitions to repeat as champions. In nine MLB seasons, the 30-year-old right-hander has a record of 75-64 with a 3.90 ERA while averaging a hair under 10 strikeouts per nine innings. He has one of the strongest arsenals of pitches in the league and has turned into a nightmare for batters.

Bauer does have his detractors. There has been rumours over the years that he is a bad teammate and lacks cooperation. His blunt personality and his sometimes-confrontational use of social media has rubbed some people the wrong way.

The 2021 MLB season is scheduled to begin on April 1.

By Charlie Parker