The Long Island Ducks first had conversations about controversial former major leaguer Trevor Bauer pitching for the suburban ballclub in mid- to late February. 

Weeks later, he is slated to be the Opening Night starter. 

The 35-year-old former Cy Young Award winner, who hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2021 after a lengthy suspension stemming from sexual assault allegations he has consistently denied, he signed with the Ducks of the independent Atlantic League on Thursday. 

“I’m looking forward to competing in front of U.S. fans again this season,” Bauer said in a statement. “The Ducks have had some incredible players come through their organization, and I’m excited to be part of that tradition.” 

Bauer has spent the past three years pitching in Japan and Mexico while trying to revive his baseball career following a 194-game suspension for violating MLB’s domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy. 

While he was pitching for the Dodgers during the 2021 season, Bauer was placed on administrative leave after a woman accused him of punching and choking her during sex. Bauer said that his encounters with the woman were “wholly consensual” and he was never criminally charged over the allegations. 

He was originally given a record 324-game suspension by MLB in April 2022, but after an appeal later that same year, it was reduced to 194 games. 

Ducks president Michael Pfaff told The Post that “all decisions are team decisions” and “everybody has a voice in the room.” 

The team exec added that the reaction to the addition of Bauer has been “really positive so far.” 

“Trevor is a 10-year Major League veteran, he’s a Cy Young Award winner and it’s someone that we think is going to have a tremendous amount of success here,” Pfaff said in a phone interview. “He chose Long Island because we have provably been the best showcase for players like him to get signed by MLB and MLB clubs, and that’s his goal. His goal here is to see if he can get another chance in Major League Baseball and we’re going to provide him that showcase.” 

A number of former major leaguers have gone through Central Islip in the hope of one final shot at the majors, including ex-Met Daniel Murphy, Dontrelle Willis, Eric Gagne and Rich Hill. John Rocker famously attempted a comeback in 2005 with the Ducks. 

The Ducks open their spring training on April 10 and Pfaff said that Bauer wants to report right at the start of camp in order to be ready to take the mound on April 21. The Ducks will open their season that night at Fairfield Properties Park against the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars and Bauer will be mic’d for his start. 

“He’s indicated no issue with being ready for Opening Day up to this point,” Pfaff said. 

There is no set time frame for how long the Ducks expect Bauer to be on Long Island, but Pfaff pointed out that history has shown that if MLB teams buy player contracts from the Ducks, it usually occurs before June 15. 

Bauer had been released by the Dodgers in 2023 and spent the next few seasons pitching in Japan and Mexico.

He was 83-69 with a 3.79 ERA in 10 MLB seasons that included time with the Diamondbacks, Guardians, Reds and Dodgers. He won the National League Cy Young Award in 2020.