Should the Houston Astros Sign Trevor Bauer?

The Houston Astros are in a world of hurt right now. They are off to a really bad start - they are 7-18 on the season so far, which means they are in last place and below the Oakland Athletics. And on top of that, their starting rotation is pretty well dinged up. As of right now, they have 7 starters on the IL with various injuries as well as multiple relievers. They are not in a good place and are in some desperate need for help.

And that brings us to Trevor Bauer. The controversial former Cy Young winner is doing his best to get back into the big leagues after being suspended and sort of blackballed. Could this be a match made in heaven?

Why is Trevor Bauer Not On a Major League Roster?

Trevor Bauer is a former Cy Young winner. He's shown flashes of greatness on the mound. So, why is he not on a Major League team? The short answer is he was accused by multiple women of sexual assault in 2021. At that time, he was suspended indefinitely by Major League Baseball.

However, since the original story broke, Trevor has never faced criminal charges. An independent arbiter ended his MLB suspension. And, recently, one of the women who accused Bauer of sexual assault has been arrested for criminal fraud for trying to extort money from Bauer and another person.

So while he's never been found guilty of anything, he has been unable to fully clear his name and resume his Major League career.

Could Bauer & the Houston Astros Be the Perfect Fit?

The Astros badly needs Major League pitching. Bauer badly wants a second chance at redemption. This could be the perfect pairing.

Let's face it, whoever signs Bauer (if anyone opts to sign him) will see a backlash. For a short period of time, it'll be a PR nightmare. Doesn't matter that he's never been charged of anything and is starting to see some legal vindication. The mere mention of his name online brings out a ton of people who call him everything from an abuser to a piece of trash.

The flip side to that - if there's a team that's equipped to weather a PR nightmare, it's the Houston Astros. The 2017 Astro sign stealing scandal was one of the biggest black eyes on baseball. But despite it being one of the biggest controversies in baseball since the steroid scandal, pretty much everyone survived it unscathed due in part to the way they handled the situation.

So, you have a controversial star that could have a positive impact on the club. You have a team that knows how to manage and survive controversy. It just seems like a perfect match.

Can Trevor Bauer Still Perform at the Big League Level?

The biggest question aside from will anyone ever sign Trevor Bauer is can he still pitch at a major league level? We'll never really know until someone takes a chance on him, if any team ever opts to do it. But, Bauer has been pitching internationally and doing pretty well the past couple years.

Last year, he signed a contract to play with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of the Nippon Professional Baseball. The NBP is the biggest league in Japan where stars like Othani, Senga and other major league stars got their start. So, we're not talking Independent League baseball, this is big time stuff. He ended up being NBP all-star with a 10-4 record and a 2.76 ERA.

This year, he signed a short term deal with the Diablos Rojos del Mexico of the Mexican League. It was just a short term deal hoping that he could sign a long term deal with a major league team now that his name is starting to get cleared. And he's been lighting it up there too. He just a Mexican League record with 9 straight strikeouts in a game. So, he's still got pretty good stuff.