Yankees’ Plan A at first base would have brought Gerrit Cole's arch nemesis to New York

Baseball is filled with awkward moments. Whether it's Jose Canseco’s head assisting a ball over the wall for a home run or Brett Gardner getting beat up by his own helmet, there’s nothing that quite matches the spur of the moment oddities that comprise an unpredictable sport. But there’s another kind of awkward that creates an unbearable tension that might last for a long time.

Assisting a hitter on a home run with your head or being walloped by your helmet leaves a dent in your pride for about a day or two as well as some bruising that might last a week. But sharing a dugout with your enemy is a torture that will last a while, or in this case, at least one season of baseball. That is what almost happened to Gerrit Cole.

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The Yankees plans to bring Josh Naylor aboard would have created definite clubhouse tension

This offseason, the Yankees’ search for a first baseman took a frightening turn, at least for Gerrit Cole. According to Jorge Castillo of ESPN, the Yankees explored bringing Josh Naylor to New York. Naylor, who is now a Diamondback, has one year left on his contract and a left-handed swing that complements the boundaries of Yankee Stadium quite well. Castillo wrote this:

“The Yankees engaged in discussions with the Cleveland Guardians on Josh Naylor, but the two sides couldn't come to a resolution, according to a source, before Naylor was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks.”

For Cole, crisis averted. Cole, known for his serious mentality, took exception when Naylor hit a home run off him during Game 4 of the 2022 ALDS then proceeded to do a celebration while rounding the bases that can only be described as ‘rocking the baby.’ In other words, it seemed he was telling Cole who his daddy was. Cole, who said he didn't notice the celebration when it happened, had some sharp words for it after making the discovery.

There aren’t many rational situations that instantly compel you in a single moment to despise someone you don’t really know, but the 'who’s your daddy' moment has earned that distinction. It is a distinction that Yankee fans remind Naylor of every time he fails to get on base in Yankee Stadium. But in the words of Naylor, it wasn’t aimed at Cole. Naylor had this to say after being asked if he regretted the celebration:

"Maybe. I don’t know. It was a moment. I was doing that all year, but probably not as aggressive as I did there. It was more so to get the guys fired up. I think the media made it look like I was doing it at him directly. I was doing it at the bench and I really wanted to fire up my guys because we were winning that series."

Whether it was or wasn’t a declaration of ownership over Gerrit Cole, it was certainly a moment that riled up Yankee fans and earned the disrespect of one the game’s greatest current arms. Luckily for the New York ace, the Yankees signed Paul Goldschmidt while his hated nemesis went to Arizona.