It had been a quiet afternoon around Chavez Ravine.

For much of Thursday, it was business as usual for the Dodgers front office. Most club personnel were preparing for the upcoming holiday weekend, and some executives had already scattered with Christmas Eve two days away.

Team officials weren’t anticipating any major news — especially regarding the status of Trevor Bauer’s appeal of a domestic violence suspension, a decision the club didn’t believe would be known for at least several more weeks, according to people with knowledge of the situation unauthorized to speak publicly.

By 5 p.m. PST, however, everything changed.

Major League Baseball announced an independent arbitrator reduced Bauer’s original 324-game suspension to 194 and made the pitcher immediately eligible, thus giving the Dodgers 14 days to either release him or put him back on their roster.