Yankees: Trevor Bauer’s rumored contract details are direct shot at Gerrit Cole

Trevor Bauer’s rumored Mets contract is a direct shot at Yankees ace Gerrit Cole.

Bad blood never stops boiling, based on the details of the rumored contract Trevor Bauer is on the verge of signing with the crosstown Mets.

This social media maven proves every day he’s perfect for Queens, doesn’t he?

Let me take you back to the winter of 2019-20. What a wonderful time that was for Yankees fans, and also for the entire world! There was no pandemic! You could go outside and freely eat a doughnut! Iconic era.

In December of that rollicking winter, Gerrit Cole agreed to a nine-year deal to front the rotation for his childhood favorite team, the New York Yankees, totaling $324 million, or $36 million AAV. It was a homecoming of sorts, but perhaps more importantly, it was a record annual deal for a pitcher. And as saccharine as the “Yankee Fan Today, Tomorrow, Forever” sign was, Cole likely would’ve gone elsewhere if not for the sum total of the deal.

Smash cut to 2020-21, where everything is worse, and Cole’s long-time enemy Bauer, harboring animosity back to their UCLA days, appears to be closing in on a three- or four-year contract with the New York Mets. And you’ll never guess how much the singular outlier year of payment at the start of the contract just so happens to total.

You couldn’t craft a more direct shot if you tried.

That’s three total years for Bauer, according to WFAN’s Ed Coleman, accounting for $93 million total. Usually, these days, we see large contracts like this one get backloaded, with increasing value as they continue. It’s how clubs are deferring costs until the pandemic is more settled.

Well, not Bauer’s! The last two years? Just $28 million AAV. The first one? A measly one million above Cole’s number, for seemingly no reason.

Huh! Wonder why that number’s important to old Trev! If you wanted Cole’s nostrils flaring, you probably got ’em.

But will the old enemies be sharing a city? Is this all but assured, or is Bauer’s latest gibberish just another stall tactic to get him to California on a shorter-term deal with the Dodgers?

Stay tuned to the ensuing Bauer vlogs about why the number “37” has special meaning to him because he once harassed 37 women on Twitter in one night. Or don’t. Honestly, this process has dragged its ass on the carpet long enough.

At this point, assume a deal doesn’t get done until the Mets can secure the slightly bigger house right down the street from the Cole family for Bauer and Rachel Luba.

Yankees: Trevor Bauer deal might actually turn Mets into real rival

If the New York Mets bring Trevor Bauer to Queens, maybe that'll actually ignite the rivalry with the Yankees which they've been pretending exists?