MLB extends Trevor Bauer's leave another week after judge rescinds restraining order
Warning: This story contains descriptions of violence.
Major League Baseball and the MLB Players' Assn. agreed to extend Trevor Bauer's administrative leave through August 27, hours after a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge rescinded a protective order against the Dodgers pitcher.
A person with direct knowledge of the proceedings confirmed to USA TODAY Sports that Bauer's leave has been extended.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Bauer, 30, will be paid during his administrative leave - which began on July 2 - but still faces potential discipline from MLB along with a criminal investigation from the Pasadena Police Department after a pair of sexual encounters with a San Diego woman at his residence.
Bauer and his legal team have contended that both instances were consensual, but the woman complained she was punched and sexually assaulted while unconscious.
Key details from their encounters emerged during this week's four-day hearing to determine if a protective order against Bauer would remain.
In explaining her decision, the judge said there was no supporting evidence that Bauer was likely to cause the accuser harm or contact her again. Ultimately, Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman said Bauer did not exceed the limits the accuser had set during sex.
After the accuser went to the hospital following the second encounter with Bauer in May, she was diagnosed with an acute head injury and assault by strangulation. A forensic nurse who examined the woman afterward testified this week she noticed the woman’s facial injuries, her "racoon eyes," bruised buttocks and a "significant amount of bruising" on the woman's genitals.
MLB had an attorney present during court proceedings this week, and would have to meet a far lower standard to warrant suspending Bauer than the district's attorney would to bring charges against him.
The joint domestic violence policy agreed upon by MLB and the MLBPA states that players can be disciplined even in the absence of criminal charges or witness cooperation. The majority of suspensions under the policy have occurred in that scenario, and the testimony of Bauer's accuser - including an undisputed notion that Bauer punched her in the vagina while she was unconscious - may carry significant weight as MLB ponders disciplining the pitcher. Bauer signed a three-year ,$102 million contract with the Dodgers this past offseason.
"We are grateful to the Los Angeles Superior Court for denying the request for a permanent restraining order and dissolving the temporary restraining order against Mr. Bauer today," Shawn Holley, one of Bauer's attorneys, said outside court following the ruling. "While we have expected this outcome since the petition was filed in June, we appreciate the Court reviewing all relevant information and testimony to make this informed decision."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trevor Bauer news update: MLB extends Dodgers pitcher's leave
