Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer will not testify Thursday in the hearing to determine whether a temporary domestic violence restraining order against him will become permanent.
His attorneys had said Wednesday that Bauer planned to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights if he took the stand. The judge in the case determined that Bauer was not required to testify if it "would be an exercise in futility, which the court thinks it would be in this circumstance."
Thursday is the fourth and final day of the hearing on the restraining order, sought by a 27-year-old woman after Bauer allegedly strangled her unconscious three times with her own hair and punched her in the face, buttocks and genitals during a sexual encounter.
Bauer's attorneys had told the judge that he would testify but would state only his name and that he is a Major League Baseball player. His attorneys said they had instructed Bauer to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights if asked any additional questions.
The Pasadena (California) Police Department is conducting an ongoing criminal investigation into allegations of domestic violence and sexual assault stemming from two sexual encounters that took place between Bauer and the woman on April 21 and May 16. Under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, no person "shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness" against themselves.
Bauer's attorneys have contended that the encounters were "wholly consensual," in part because the woman texted Bauer "gimme all the pain" and indicated she wanted to be choked out before she returned to Bauer's house in May. But in her testimony Wednesday, the woman said: "To me, text messages do not mean consent. I did not consent to hurting all over my body and being put in the hospital and having things done to me when I was unconscious. That is not consensual."
The woman, whom ESPN is not naming because she has reported she is a victim of sexual assault, spent more than nine hours over three days testifying about what happened during the encounters and the events that surrounded them.
Bauer has been on administrative leave by MLB and the players' association since July 2 while investigators look into the allegations. His leave, which has been extended five times, is slated to expire Friday. Bauer is the highest-paid player in MLB this year, earning nearly $40 million, and he won the 2020 National League Cy Young Award while pitching for the Cincinnati Reds.
A permanent restraining order could last up to five years in California.
Information from ESPN's Tisha Thompson and Alden Gonzalez was used in this report.