Trevor Bauer prepared for possible sign stealing by telling hitter what pitch was coming

“Here it comes, try to hit it.”

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer has been one of baseball’s more outspoken players when it comes to the Astros cheating scandal. He was among the players to accuse the Astros of using wearable buzzers to steal signs, and he’s spoken out against baseball commissioner Rob Manfred in recent weeks.

But if baseball isn’t going to find a way to eliminate sign stealing from the game, Bauer seems determined to prepare for possible cheating.

During Monday’s Cactus League game between the Reds and Dodgers, Bauer signaled his pitches to Dodgers first baseman Matt Beaty during a fourth-inning at-bat. The Reds broadcast quickly caught on to Bauer signaling the pitch with his glove — as a pitcher typically would do during between-inning warmups — and Bauer challenged Beaty to hit what was coming.

Despite intentionally giving away his pitches in advance, Bauer would get Beaty to line out to straightaway center field.

The broadcast speculated that it had something to do with the Astros cheating scandal, and Reds teammate Derek Dietrich confirmed that during an in-game interview.

Dietrich said:

“In fact, I do. Trevor and I are good friends. If you’ve followed baseball this offseason, there’s a little thing going on with sign stealing. So, Trevor’s not too fond of it, so he figured he’s gonna try something new this season. And he’s gonna start telling the batters what’s coming. And that way there’s no ifs, ands or buts about what’s going on. Just here it comes, try to hit it.”

Bauer only signaled his pitches for that one at-bat in the fourth inning, but he did put together three innings of scoreless work.

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