On the occasion to celebrate Gerrit Cole’s Cy Young award win, another former winner of that award expressed his willingness to join the Yankees.
Trevor Bauer, who won the National League Cy Young Award in 20220, asserts that his previous animosity with longtime adversary Gerrit Cole is a thing of the past. Now, he expresses a desire to reunite and once again be a cornerstone in the same pitching rotation as his former UCLA teammate.
Bauer’s keen to play alongside Gerrit Cole
Offering congratulations, Bauer initially acknowledged the Yankees’ ace for securing a unanimous victory in the AL Cy Young Award on Wednesday night. While he tweeted to welcome Gerrit Cole to the coveted club of Cy Young winners, the former Reds ace acknowledged that the honor was due to the Yankees rotation leader for long.
Bauer also found it impressive that both he and Gerrit Cole, former college teammates, had Cy Young accolades under their belt. He inquired whether any baseball historians were aware if this feat had occurred previously or if it was a first in baseball history.
An X user suggested that Bauer should consider joining Gerrit Cole in the Bronx, expressing a desire to see Bauer as part of the rotation for the Yankees rotation.
Bauer expressed his enthusiasm for the idea, referencing their shared history by mentioning their previous College World Series appearance with UCLA in 2010, implying that success could potentially follow if they teamed up again at the Yankees.
Following the previous exchange, a user inquired about the current status of their relationship, asking Bauer if they were on good terms now. He confirmed that they had been on good terms for an extended period, indicating that any prior issues had been resolved long ago.
Bauer was Gerrit Cole’s UCLA teammate
Bauer, looking to make a comeback to MLB after being sidelined last offseason due to a two-year suspension for violating the league’s domestic violence policy, seized the opportunity to express his interest in joining the Yankees team.
Gerrit Cole and Bauer were teammates at UCLA from 2009-2011. The Yankees ace was originally drafted by the Pirates in the 2011 MLB Draft, while Bauer was picked by the Diamondbacks with the third overall selection. Their time together at UCLA marked the beginning of a rivalry between them.
According to Sports Illustrated, Yankees ace Gerrit Cole had criticized Bauer for not adhering to the team’s weight-lifting program, and there were reports suggesting that their personalities did not align. In their professional MLB careers, Bauer escalated the rivalry by accusing Gerrit Cole’s Astros of manipulating baseballs.
Following his NL Cy Young Award win with the Reds in 2020, Bauer stated that he and Gerrit Cole had resolved their differences.
Bauer conveyed via MLB.com that he holds no animosity toward the Yankees ace, stating, “I don’t have any issues with Gerrit.” He acknowledged that they had disagreements during their college years, which were nearly a decade or so in the past, highlighting personal growth and change since that time. Bauer also suggested that he believed the same growth might have occurred for Gerrit Cole.
It is in Bauer’s best interest to exhibit good behavior as he seeks a return to MLB following the settlement of lawsuits with his accuser, Lindsey Hill. Offering congratulations to Gerrit Cole is a strategic move, considering Gerrit Cole’s influence within the Yankees and the limited number of available positions in the sport.
Whether any MLB team is willing to sign him after his suspension remains uncertain, but Bauer’s agents have engaged in discussions with teams during the recent GM Meetings, as reported by The Post’s Jon Heyman.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
Give him a shot! If the Yankees don’t give him a chance someone else will and he’ll make everyone pay. He is still a top end pitcher and would be a great addition to the pitching staff. The Yankees have given plenty of subpar performers chances after legal issues where they were found guilty why not give the innocent guy a shot!
would love to see Trevor Bauer in pinstripes!
Sign him, as long as it’s true that Cole in good with it. As a now all-time Yankees Great, Cole’s feelings deserve to be respected by management.
As for the charges against Bauer of domestic violence, they have been PROVEN to any impartial viewer to be ABSOLUTELY FALSE, and the charges were motivated by a nefarious woman’s desire to bilk a few million from Bauer’s pockets.
So, there’s NO ETHICAL REASONS TO NOT SIGN BAUER. He was clearly Falsely Accused of a crime by a money-digging woman.
You don’t show respect for women’s feelings & the many good aspects of the Me Too Movement by punishing a man who was falsely accused of a crime. That woman is the person who disrespected other women by trying to use a worthy movement as an excuse to bilk money out of a man under false premises.
The Yankees wouldn’t be giving Bauer another chance, they’d be righting a terrible wrong that Bauer suffered at the hands of an apparently nefarious woman.