Baseball trade rumors: Trevor Bauer's problems with Diamondbacks probably no surprise to Gerrit Cole

Tom Singer reports that the Arizona Diamondbacks' issues with Trevor Bauer probably come as little surprise to top Pirates prospect Gerrit Cole. Cole and Bauer were teammates at UCLA, and Cole was selected with the first overall pick in the 2012 draft, and Bauer went two picks later.

It became so bitter that as they both went through their first Major League Spring Trainings earlier this year, they flatly declined to comment on each other’s situations.

I don’t know the roots of the dispute — but I imagine somewhere Cole was nodding knowingly last week when rumors surfaced that the D-backs were already shopping Bauer because his attitude during his brief big-league baptismal last summer had been a turn-off.

This is all soap-opera stuff right now, of course, but it could become more interesting if Cole and Bauer both emerge as top pitchers (particularly if Bauer stays in the National League; there are rampant rumors that the Diamondbacks will trade him).

Bauer reached the major leagues in 2012 and pitched 16.1 innings, striking out 17 but walking 13. The Pirates have been more conservative with Cole, who will likely begin the 2013 season at Class AAA Indianapolis before making his big-league debut at some point in the summer.