Ex-MLB pitcher Trevor Bauer settles civil suit with woman over sexual assault allegations

LOS ANGELES — Former major league pitcher Trevor Bauer and a California woman who accused him of sexual assault settled their civil lawsuits against each other, attorneys for the player said Monday.

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Bauer, 32, the 2020 National League Cy Young Award, was handed the harshest suspension by MLB for violating its policy against sexual assault and domestic violence, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The 324-game suspension came after an investigation began after the woman’s allegations in 2021, according to the newspaper. Bauer sued the woman, Lindsey Hill, of San Diego, for defamation, and she countersued for assault and sexual battery, the Times reported.

“Trevor Bauer and Lindsey Hill have settled all outstanding litigation,” Bauer’s attorneys, Jon Fetterolf and Shawn Holly, said in an emailed statement. “Both of their respective claims have been withdrawn with prejudice, effective today. Mr. Bauer did not make -- and never has made -- any payments to Ms. Hill, including to resolve their litigation. With this matter now at rest, Mr. Bauer can focus completely on baseball.”

The settlement was revealed in a court filing Monday. According to a copy of the settlement agreement emailed to Cox Media Group, neither Bauer nor Hill is paying to settle the case. Both parties still deny each other’s claims, according to the agreement.

In a statement to the Times, Bryan Freedman, one of Hill’s attorneys, said “In what turned out to be an outstanding resolution for Lindsey, neither Lindsey nor anyone on her behalf paid anything to Bauer. Not a single dollar.

“Even better, Lindsey received $300,000 from her insurance company. Based on that payment, Lindsey agreed to settle the lawsuit. Now that the lawsuit is over, Lindsey looks forward to helping others.”

Hill said in an interview with The Washington Post that her allegations were never about money.

“I’m finally free from his grip, and to be able to move forward with my life is better than anything money could ever give me, truly,” Hill told the newspaper.

Bauer was suspended for 324 games (two seasons) in April 2022 and was serving the longest penalty ever issued for violation of MLB’s policy on sexual assault and domestic violence, the Times reported.

On Feb. 11, 2021, the Dodgers signed Bauer to a three-year, $102 million contract through the 2023 season, the Times reported.

Bauer faces a different accusation from an Arizona woman, The Associated Press reported. She alleges in a lawsuit that Bauer held a knife at her throat and choked her until she passed out during a rape that left her pregnant in late 2020.

Bauer, who was never arrested or charged, has countersued, denying the allegations and accusing the woman of faking a pregnancy and trying to extort money from him.

Bauer was first publicly accused of sexual assault in June 2021, the Times reported. He denied the claims and faced no criminal charges. He spent the rest of the 2021 season and the beginning of the 2022 campaign on administrative leave.

Bauer’s two-year suspension from Major League Baseball was reduced to 194 games in December 2022 by an arbitration panel.

He went on to play professionally in Japan after his original suspension, USA Today reported. He was released by the Los Angeles Dodgers in January 2023 and then was unsigned by other MLB teams, according to the newspaper.

“Quite frankly, regardless of the outcome in court, I’ve paid significantly more in legal fees than (the accuser) could ever pay me in her entire life, and I knew that would be the case going in,” Bauer said in a video statement. “But the lawsuit was never about the money for me. It was the only way for me to obtain critical information to clear my name.”