Mark Madden: Pirates, Steelers would be smart to sign Trevor Bauer, Matt Araiza

The Pittsburgh Pirates should sign pitcher Trevor Bauer.

The Steelers should sign punter Matt Araiza.

Wrongs would be righted. Both teams would be helped.

We rush to crucify when malicious deeds are said to have occurred. But we drag our feet when it comes to vindicating the falsely accused.

Bauer and Araiza are both victims. Wrongly accused of sexual assault. Totally absolved. No payoffs got made. Bauer and Araiza are 100% innocent. No asterisks, no whispers, no doubt.

Bauer, 33, hasn’t pitched in MLB since 2021. He plied his trade in Japan last season. Bauer won the National League Cy Young Award with Cincinnati in 2020. His career has been inconsistent, but he’s capable of overwhelming.

Araiza, 23, was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 2022. He got cut when he was accused. He has never punted in the NFL. Araiza won the Ray Guy Award as college football’s outstanding punter in 2021 after averaging an NCAA-record 51.2 yards per punt.

Why do Bauer and Araiza not have jobs? How are potential employers not battling for their services?

It’s an indictment of cancel culture’s utter dishonesty. The cancellation isn’t reversed when facts dictate.

The Steelers tolerated Pressley Harvin III’s incompetence for three seasons. Signing Araiza seems an easy decision. He’s called the “Punt God,” for heck’s sake. The Steelers would turn a weakness into a strength.

Don’t doubt Araiza because he has never punted in the NFL. That’s digging deep for disbelief. Kicking a ball is kicking a ball. It doesn’t differ between college and pro.

The Pirates, meantime, are in the business of selling horse manure. Manufacturing false dawns. Peddling hope where none truly exists in the name of minimizing payroll and maximizing profit.

Signing Bauer would give the Pirates’ sales pitch a rare taste of legitimacy.

What if the Pirates had Bauer and Mitch Keller at the top of their rotation with Paul Skenes on the way? Tack on a bullpen that features David Bednar and Aroldis Chapman as a righty-lefty combination for closer and setup man.

If the Pirates have that, and hit even adequately, there would be the legit possibility of finishing above .500. Doing that is all it takes to stay in the race for a wild card.

If that doesn’t happen, trade Bauer to a contender at the deadline. If he’s pitching decent, the Pirates would get good return after absorbing the PR hit of signing Bauer. (That shouldn’t happen, but it will.)

Bauer says he would pitch for the MLB minimum of $740,000.

Bauer also said his agent contacted the Pirates and was turned down.

Why on earth would the Pirates do that?

The Pirates are paying J.T. Brubaker $2.275 million but won’t pay Bauer $740k. They’re reportedly looking at signing Domingo German. He won 18 games in 2019 but just 11 since. German would cost more than $740k. He has a fraction of Bauer’s ability.

The Pirates will never again have a chance to get a nailed-on No. 1 starter, let alone at that price.

Bauer is quirky. Not necessarily well-liked by teammates.

But what do the Pirates have to lose? God forbid the chemistry of a clubhouse that won 76 games last season be disrupted. Just let Bauer do his job.

Bauer would sell tickets. I’d pay to see him. I’d attend five or six of his starts this coming season, and I’ve gone to a total of five Pirates games since the pandemic.

There’s very little that’s sexy about the Pirates. But Bauer would draw.

If the Steelers don’t sign Araiza and the Pirates don’t sign Bauer, the dedication of each franchise to winning can be questioned. (I’ve got my doubts already, to say the least, especially about the hillbilly prince’s cash cow.)

If nobody signs Araiza or Bauer, they both need to talk to lawyers. Because that seems like being blackballed, and for no good reason.

Araiza and Bauer are victims. That can’t be emphasized enough.