One of the more underappreciated aspects in major sports, and baseball especially, has to be the free agency process for me. As a fan, I’m always speculating what my favorite team needs to do to improve and make the postseason, and keeping an eye out for rumors and trade talk throughout the winter. That’s why, for me, the Trevor Bauer saga this past offseason sticks out so much to me as one of the weirdest, yet eye-catching, stories I’ve ever seen unfold in free agency.
Let’s make this clear right off the bat, Trevor Bauer is good at promoting himself and his brand. Ever since his early college ball days at UCLA, he has been creating content on YouTube, showing off how he goes through his regiment of being a pitcher and the trial and error process he goes through to better himself. He’s one of the first players to use actual science and logic in crafting his mechanics, pitch selection, and training regiment. To Bauer, his body needs to be in the proper setting to fully utilize the skills he can bring to a ballgame every 5th, or potentially 4th day as he alluded to in his Dodger press conference. Currently, he runs his own YouTube channel, simply named Trevor Bauer, and is one of the founders of Momentum, Bauer’s way to demonstrate the human aspect of being a Major League ballplayer and the marketing involved. Bauer had made it clear to the media for a few years that through his connections, his free agency would be like no other, giving a full insight into the process and his thoughts and routines he goes through. He even went so far as to say that he’d only be signing 1 year deals to maximize his own value year by year, and bet on himself to continue to better his game.
(Photo courtesy of Cleveland.com)
Trevor Bauer chose probably the best (and worst) year he could to enter free agency. Heading into 2020, Bauer was looking to rebound from a rough 2019 where he dealt with a lingering arm injury from the year prior, and a midseason trade from the Indians to the Reds where he saw his ERA skyrocket to 6.39 in 10 starts with Cincinnati. On a Reds team that had some hype behind it with free agent signings like Mike Moustakas and Nicholas Castellanos, Bauer was one of the biggest “X-factors” in whether Cincinnati would make a playoff push in 2020. Little did people know that Bauer would be the biggest reason the Reds made the playoffs in 2020, anchoring the Reds with a 1.73 ERA and creating a dynamic trio in the Reds rotation alongside Sonny Gray and Luis Castillo. Bauer would go on to win the National League Cy Young Award, beating out Yu Darvish and reigning two-time winner Jacob DeGrom in the process. This is Bauer’s best season in the bigs thus far, rivaling his 6th place Cy Young finish in 2018 with Cleveland.
Bauer headed into free agency this winter with a plethora of suitors, all hoping to attract the eye of the proclaimed “Mickey Mouse” Cy Young Award winner. Bauer’s biggest asset to help him during the process was his agent, Rachel Luba. Rachel and Trevor had known each other since their days at UCLA together, and during October of 2019, Bauer signed to Rachel’s agency Luba Sports. She, alongside Trevor, were producing content all throughout the 2020 winter on free agency updates and their daily routines while meeting with different teams and clients. Luba also started up her own podcast Cork’d Up, alongside Jessica Kleinschmidt, to discuss the jobs of an agent and processes like arbitration and free agency.
Trevor Bauer and Rachel Luba, (Photo courtesy of LA Times)
Heading into February, Bauer still remained on the market, with rumors of his list of suitors growing thinner and thinner. The New York Mets had seemingly remained the front-runner for the duration of the process, with new owner Steve Cohen showing a willingness to upgrade payroll in order to improve and set the precedent of being a World Series contender. There was a dark horse in the running, however, in the form of reigning World series champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers, despite being over the luxury tax, had previously shown interest in adding marquee free agents on short term deals, sending out such offers to Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon the two previous offseasons. Bauer was the perfect guy for them, seeking such a deal himself and grew up in Southern California as a Dodgers fan. On the morning of February 5th, a decision had been made. Trevor Bauer, after a night full of fake rumors of him going to Queens, was going to be a Los Angeles Dodger.
One of Bauer's YouTube thumbnails, teasing his decision (Photo courtesy of Trevor Bauer YouTube channel)
Agent Rachel Luba said after that Bauer made the decision after getting back from a walk near his house, just to calm himself and get his mind in sorts once again. Trevor had signed a 3 year deal worth $105 million, with opt-outs included after each year of the deal, living up to his word of only signing 1 year deals. Bauer released a YouTube video on his channel to announce the move, finishing his free agency journey the same way it had began. Bauer’s deal is the highest average annual value in the sport’s history at $45 million, and comes at a time where Major League Baseball as a whole lost 3 BILLION dollars in revenue this past season. Bauer’s signing didn’t come without some turmoil, however, as leaks of Bauer merch with the Mets on his personal website leaked to the public. Bauer ended up swooping in to explain the mistake was not out of poor taste toward the Mets organization, and promptly donated to a Mets charity organization in response.
Even with Bauer’s free agency done and over with, the effects are still being felt around the league. Bauer remains up to his antics, recently pitching in a Spring Training game with only one eye open, and settling Twitter disputes with Mets righthander Noah Syndergaard about his signing. With the Major League season starting up in 3 weeks, the focus of all baseball fans has turned to Opening Day, but here’s one fan saying to not forget the offseason antics, and the most interesting free agent of the decade.
Please check out all of Trevor's social medias, found everywhere as @baueroutage, and make sure to check out Trevor's personal and Momentum YouTube channels and websites!
(Photo in thumbnail courtesy of Dodgers Nation)
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