Any interest in Trevor Bauer if he's released?

[Frobby]

11 minutes ago, owknows said:

I think it is fair however, to question the objectivity of an organization whose fundamental fealty is to it's perceived image rather than a necessarily just outcome. MLB would understandably be biased toward protecting itself in this process rather than the player.

Sure, that is fair.  But the arbitrator was a true neutral selected jointly by MLB and the MLBPA.   He’s not some MLB captive.  

[SemperFi]

43 minutes ago, SemperFi said:

I really don't have a dog in this fight but let's be accurate in our posts.  Sam Dyson was suspended a full year for bullying-no physical contact.  I would also add that it's not simply MLB, the MLBPA signed off and supports the policy, they both have a vested interest in protecting the ban.

 

Sorry, not sure how to edit yet but I meant protecting the brand.

[emmett16]

I think all of this is moot as Elias seems to be very risk averse on many levels and likely will not touch Bauer with a 10’ pole.  I don’t think the reward (having a true #1) is worth the risk (blowing up the clubhouse).  

[emmett16]

3 minutes ago, SemperFi said:

Sorry, not sure how to edit yet but I meant protecting the brand.

Tap “…” in the upper right hand corner of your post.  Tap that icon and then tap edit

[owknows]

13 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Sure, that is fair.  But the arbitrator was a true neutral selected jointly by MLB and the MLBPA.   He’s not some MLB captive.  

No doubt. And he reduced the suspension to time served. But given that there was no way to unring that bell, he really didn't have much of a choice even if he thought no time was warranted.

[Tony-OH]

On 12/23/2022 at 5:37 PM, Frobby said:

 How bad will fan backlash be, and will there be discontent in the clubhouse?   If they feel that not too many fans will walk away, and that the clubhouse will accept Bauer, then they should sign a guy who has the potential to improve the team drastically at very little cost.   He did his time and the team shouldn’t apply a further morality test beyond the pragmatic considerations above.  But if the backlash will make it a bad business decision, then don’t sign him.  
 

These are the points I would be concerned about if the Orioles acquired Bauer. My thoughts, most fans have no idea who Bauer is or what he was suspended for, so I don't there would be anything but very small loud minority who would be upset.

As for the clubhouse, someone posted the video of many of Bauer's previous teammates saying how much he was misunderstood and how much they enjoyed him as a teammate. If that's true, then I don't see an issue.

Also, maybe Bauer has matured after this situation? 

[Number5]

7 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Also, maybe Bauer has matured after this situation? 

I'm no psychoanalyst or therapist, but I'm not sure this is the type of thing that one can mature out of.

Really difficult situation to know what the right thing to do is.  The Dodgers are the ones facing the tough decision initially.

[Tony-OH]

1 minute ago, Number5 said:

I'm no psychoanalyst or therapist, but I'm not sure this is the type of thing that one can mature out of.

Really difficult situation to know what the right thing to do is.  The Dodgers are the ones facing the tough decision initially.

I'm not talking about his sexual preferences, I'm talking about him as a person overall. Everyone can mature, particularly after traumatic events. 

[Frobby]

11 minutes ago, owknows said:

No doubt. And he reduced the suspension to time served. But given that there was no way to unring that bell, he really didn't have much of a choice even if he thought no time was warranted.

Well, he did dock him an additional 50 games of pay into 2023.  He could have gone the other direction and reinstated his pay for 2022 if he thought a suspension was unwarranted.  

I’m not saying I agree with the arbitrator’s decision.  I have no idea what evidence was before him.   I’m just saying that those who are saying that MLB acted just because of the “political climate” don’t have an adequate basis to make that judgment.   
 

[owknows]

30 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Well, he did dock him an additional 50 games of pay into 2023.  He could have gone the other direction and reinstated his pay for 2022 if he thought a suspension was unwarranted.  

I’m not saying I agree with the arbitrator’s decision.  I have no idea what evidence was before him.   I’m just saying that those who are saying that MLB acted just because of the “political climate” don’t have an adequate basis to make that judgment.   
 

I think we've already agreed that it is fair to say that MLB's interests were primarily vested in protecting it's perceived image rather than the player. And I suspect you would also concede that rightly or wrongly, the "me too" movement was prominent in the media at that time.

I think the arbitrator's action was a de facto declaration of overzealous action on the part of MLB. Whether the motive for MLB's zeal was the political climate or something else is what is at question... no?

[RZNJ]

9 minutes ago, owknows said:

I think we've already agreed that it is fair to say that MLB's interests were primarily vested in protecting it's perceived image rather than the player. And I suspect you would also concede that rightly or wrongly, the "me too" movement was prominent in the media at that time.

I think the arbitrator's action was a de facto declaration of overzealous action on the part of MLB. Whether the motive for MLB's zeal was the political climate or something else is what is at question... no?

Overzealous but not a witchhunt.   The arbitrater is clearly saying he agrees that there were grounds for suspending Bauer and taking millions of dollars of compensation away from him.   Many millions.

[sportsfan8703]

If TB signs him then that really hurts us. Looking at the other contenders in the AL, I think he avoids the big media markets of NY, Bos, Tor, SEA, LA, and CWS. I don’t think HOU coming off a WS, would want to mess around with it. So in the AL that leaves TB, BAL, Clev, and Tex. 
 

My thinking is that if we don’t sign him, then someone else will. Even with last season, the overall PR for the team is still not great. We get a TOR SP without giving up a draft pick, or any players to acquire him. 

[Frobby]

25 minutes ago, owknows said:

I think we've already agreed that it is fair to say that MLB's interests were primarily vested in protecting it's perceived image rather than the player. And I suspect you would also concede that rightly or wrongly, the "me too" movement was prominent in the media at that time.

I think the arbitrator's action was a de facto declaration of overzealous action on the part of MLB. Whether the motive for MLB's zeal was the political climate or something else is what is at question... no?

I said it was fair to question MLB’s objectivity.  That’s different from outright saying they acted out of their own self-interest.   I don’t have any idea what I would have thought was an appropriate punishment (if any) if I knew what evidence had been presented.

 

[SemperFi]

1 hour ago, Tony-OH said:

These are the points I would be concerned about if the Orioles acquired Bauer. My thoughts, most fans have no idea who Bauer is or what he was suspended for, so I don't there would be anything but very small loud minority who would be upset.

As for the clubhouse, someone posted the video of many of Bauer's previous teammates saying how much he was misunderstood and how much they enjoyed him as a teammate. If that's true, then I don't see an issue.

Also, maybe Bauer has matured after this situation? 

Unless I am wrong that was prior to the incident and subsequent suspension, the LA Times piece and others paint a very different scenario-that "he was not wanted in the clubhouse under any circumstances".   Now IMO some of that is to be expected from media conscious teammates but the below link written in 2019 (The Most Hated Man is Baseball) points to issues with teammates and others especially management.  I find the attack on the fan that criticized him troubling.  I do think it quite ironic that someone that reveled in social media ends up being pillorized by it.  Wonder what would have happened if social media existed in the days of Ruth, Cobb, Shoeless Joe, even Durocher or Rose??

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/feb/21/why-on-earth-is-climate-skeptic-twitter-troll-trevor-bauer-mlb-most-hated-man

[owknows]

4 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I said it was fair to question MLB’s objectivity.  That’s different from outright saying they acted out of their own self-interest.   I don’t have any idea what I would have thought was an appropriate punishment (if any) if I knew what evidence had been presented.

 

As with many things, it really is impossible to know what is objectively true. On the one hand I am sensitive to the possibility of abuse of the legal system for personal gain. And on the other hand I'm aware of the fact that there are some real jerks in this world. I tend to lean in the direction on the presumption of innocence when the situation is unclear. And I do so knowing that the standards are different between criminal, civil, and even private business proceedings. As the pages of discussion have shown, even fair-minded people don't always agree.

I appreciate your point of view.