Dodgers manager says Trevor Bauer will play on Sunday - 6 days after assault allegations - because of 'the lead of MLB'

• Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer was accused of assault on Monday by a woman he met online.
• Bauer and his agent have disputed the claims.
• Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he is "following the lead of Major League Baseball" and will start him on Sunday.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said pitcher Trevor Bauer would make his next scheduled start on Sunday against the Washington Nationals despite assault allegations being levied against him on Monday.

"I'm in the position of following the lead of Major League Baseball," Roberts told reporters during a press conference on Thursday. "Their recommendation for us is that, he was our scheduled Sunday starter, and to move forward and have him start that game Sunday. For me to try and read into anymore outside of what they have advised me and us to do, I just chose to follow their lead."

"It's out of our hands," he added.

As Washington Post reporter Chelsea Janes pointed out: "Just FYI: MLB/MLBPA joint domestic violence policy does allow commissioner to place a player on administrative leave for up to seven days while allegations are investigated. Union can appeal if the leave needs to be extended longer than that."

A woman, who Insider has chosen not to name, alleges that Bauer performed multiple instances of nonconsensual physical abuse during two instances of consensual sex. The allegations include claims that Bauer choked her to the point of unconsciousness and punched her, according to a temporary ex parte restraining order request obtained by Insider on Wednesday. The request was filed by the woman and her attorney.

"The order is a result of a recent assault that took place at the hands of Mr. Bauer where [the woman] suffered severe physical and emotional pain," Mark Garelick said in a statement on Tuesday. "Our goal is to keep Mr. Bauer from contacting our client in any way possible."

Bauer's agent Jon Fetterolf denied the allegations of abuse and said the encounters between Bauer and the woman were consensual, in a statement to Insider on Wednesday.

"Mr. Bauer had a brief and wholly consensual sexual relationship initiated by [the woman] beginning in April 2021,"
Federoff said in a statement. "We have messages that show [the woman] repeatedly asking for 'rough' sexual encounters involving requests to be 'choked out' and slapped in the face. In both of their encounters, [the woman] drove from San Diego to Mr. Bauer's residence in Pasadena, Calif. where she went on to dictate what she wanted from him sexually and he did what was asked. Following each of her only two meetings with Mr. Bauer, [the woman] spent the night and left without incident, continuing to message Mr. Bauer with friendly and flirtatious banter. In the days following their second and final encounter, [the woman] shared photos of herself and indicated that she had sought medical care for a concussion. Mr. Bauer responded with concern and confusion, and [the woman] was neither angry nor accusatory."

In response to a request for comment, the Dodgers directed Insider to a statement released on Tuesday.

"The Dodgers were made aware of the allegations against Trevor Bauer late this afternoon and immediately contacted Major League Baseball, which will be handling this matter," the statement read. "The Dodgers take any allegations of this nature very seriously but will have no further comment at this time."

The Dodgers signed Bauer, the 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner, which is bestowed upon the league's top-performing pitcher each year, to a three-year, $102 million contract in February.

He is slated to make $38 million this year.