Trevor Bauer Will Be Immediately Reinstated

Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer won his appeal on Thursday, as an arbitrator reduced MLB's two year suspension to 194 games.

Bauer hasn't played in a major league game since June 2021, missing the entirety of 2022 under the suspension.

While the arbitrator upheld a majority of the suspension, the reduction means he will be immediately reinstated. The decision also means he'll be eligible to return to a major league field in 2023.

That does seem like a victory for Bauer, who's maintained his innocence throughout the process.

However, he won't receive any back pay for games missed, and won't be paid for the first 50 games of the 2023 season.

MLB essentially announced the decision as a victory for the league, since the suspension was mostly upheld.

"While we believe a longer suspension was warranted, MLB will abide by the neutral arbitrator's decision, which upholds baseball's longest-ever active player suspension for sexual assault or domestic violence," their statement read.

Bauer Gets a 'Win' After Multiple Losses

For Bauer, this mixed result must feel like a win after several recent disappointing losses in court.

READ: TREVOR BAUER TAKES TWO COURT LOSSES IN A ROW AS FORMER MLB PITCHER BATTLES TO CLEAR NAME

The suspension cost him tens of millions of dollars. In theory, however, he'll be able to pitch again during the upcoming season, and receive the remainder of his salary.

The 2023 season now becomes the next major question for Bauer.

It's unclear what the Dodgers will do with him, especially since he'll be a free agent after the season regardless.

His return to the mound will undoubtedly be controversial, and he'll be nearly two years removed from pitching competitively.

For its part, the team issued essentially a non-statement statement, saying it'll have more in the future.

The Dodgers might decide it wouldn't be worth it to have Bauer pitch this season, given those challenges.

They could also say that he's served his punishment and try to salvage some value out of his contract. With several months of suspension remaining, they'll have some time to decide.

Many have speculated that he'll never pitch again in MLB, as teams would want to avoid the media headaches involved.

But Bauer still has immense talent and is still just 31 years old.

At the very least, he and the league now have clarity on his eligibility going forward. Now fans will have to wait and see what that means in practice.

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Ian Miller is a former award watching high school actor, author, and long suffering Dodgers fan. He spends most of his time golfing, traveling, reading about World War I history, and trying to get the remote back from his dog. Follow him on Twitter @ianmSC