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rythestunner t1_j4i9pqm wrote

Reply to comment by samdc1985 in Dodgers release Bauer, set to pay him over $21M. by PrincessBananas85

I assure you...nobody is picking him up for the 2023 season for anything more than the league minimum before Opening Day.

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samdc1985 t1_j4ia1tk wrote

Maybe.. I’d guess otherwise.. definitely not the minimum.. American sports always rewards bad behavior

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rythestunner t1_j4jz62b wrote

He can't get more than the league minimum unless someone signs him and then offers him a contract extension. He's still under his Dodgers contract. Even though he's a free agent, he's still bound by that contract because the Dodgers released him while it was still active. The Dodgers will pay all but the league minimum (if he gets picked up) and whatever team picks him up (if they do) will pay him the league minimum. That team cannot offer him more. He cannot make more money during his contract than his original contract dictated.

His 2023 contract has him receiving $22,537,634. If nobody picks him up, the Dodgers will be on the hook for $22,537,634. If someone does pick him up, the Dodgers will be on the hook for $21,817,634 and his new team will be on the hook for $720,000. They cannot offer him more than $720,000 for 2023.

MLB has strict rules regarding this because allowing a team to sign a released player for more than the league minimum would reward a player for being awful and getting released by his team by potentially allowing him to earn more money than his original contract.

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