Dodgers Poll: How Do Fans Feel About Trevor Bauer’s Future in LA?
The baseball world was hit with some major news on Thursday, when Trevor Bauer’s suspension was reduced, and he was reinstated to the league, effective immediately.
While this came as a surprise to baseball fans everywhere, clearly the Dodgers had to have some sort of idea that this was going to happen. They were laying low this offseason, and avoided getting into bidding wars for any of the top free agents on the market — a big reason being the concern that they would have to pay Bauer’s salary.
Now that the news is out, the Dodgers know they’re going to be on the hook for around $23 million of his salary, which will put them just under the luxury tax threshold.
The next question for the Dodgers, however, is what they’re going to do with Bauer. They have until January 6 to decide if they want to release him, or keep him on their roster — either way they’ll have to pay him. The only way they would get out of paying the salary is if they found a trading partner for him, but that doesn’t feel very likely. So, their options are essentially just keep him or release him.
Shortly after the news dropped yesterday, we ran a poll on the Dodgers Nation Twitter account that has already received more than 14,000 votes. The poll asked: what is your stance on Trevor Bauer pitching for the Dodgers? Here were the results:
What is your stance on Trevor Bauer pitching for the Dodgers?
— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) December 23, 2022
Over 66% percent of Dodger fans said they want to let Bauer pitch for the Dodgers next season, while a little over 33% say they want him to be released. The majority of fans who wanted to keep him seemed to be under the same thought process that 1. they have to pay him anyway and 2. he’ll help the team win. The fans who wanted them to release him felt like he would be a negative presence in the clubhouse, and it just didn’t feel right to have him on the team.
Obviously, this is going to be a very polarizing issue, just like a lot of things were for the Dodgers this offseason. However, the Dodgers still have two weeks or so to come to a conclusion, so we’ll have to wait and see what they ultimately decide to do. But it’s always interesting to gauge the fanbase in a situation like this.
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