Toronto Blue Jays' Slugger Draws Ire of New York Yankees Ace After Slow Trot Around Bases
On Friday night in spring training action, Toronto Blue Jays' slugger Daniel Vogelbach hit a towering home run off New York Yankees' pitcher (and defending Cy Young winner) Gerrit Cole, and Cole did not like the way that Vogelbach reacted.
Per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com:
Gerrit Cole was no fan of Daniel Vogelbach's slow trot in the 1st inning. “
Yeah, what’s the day? Are we still in February? March 1st? Yeah, he enjoyed that homer.”
Asked if he would remember Vogelbach’s trot during the season, Cole replied: “I don’t forget a lot of things.”
That's certainly setting the stage for some drama between the Blue Jays and Yankees this season, as if the two division rivals need any more fuel in the fire.
However, before anything escalates in the regular season, Vogelbach has to actually make the Jays' roster. As a guy on a minor league deal, nothing is guaranteed. If he does make the roster, Vogelbach figures to be a guy who can come off the bench against righties, or he can be someone who starts against them at designated hitter.
He hit .246 against right-handers last year with a .353 OPS and a .780 slugging percentage as a member of the New York Mets.
In total, the 31-year-old has spent parts of eight years in the big leagues with the Mariners, Blue Jays, Brewers, Pirates and Mets.
His best year was 2019, when he made the All-Star team for Seattle. That year, he hit 30 homers and drove in 76. He played 144 games that season, which is the high-water mark of his career.
He was let go by Seattle during the COVID 2020 season after just 18 games before latching on with Toronto the first time. He played 104 games for the Mets in 2023, hitting 13 homers and bringing in 48.
The Yankees beat the Blue Jays 4-2 on Friday night.
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