"Future teammates?" - Nick Ramirez's wife Tiffany envisions son Reese's baseball future alongside Gerrit Cole's little slugger Caden
Both Gerrit Cole and Nick Ramirez are not on the New York Yankees' 26-man opening-day roster.
During the national anthem of a game between the Yankees and the Pittsburgh Pirates on March 24, Ramirez' wife, Tiffany, posted a heartwarming image on her Instagram. In the capture, Reese Ramirez was standing alongside Gerrit and Ashley Cole's four-year-old son, Caden, dressed in full pinstriped gear.
The image was captioned with the rhetorical question 'future teammates', suggesting that the two youngsters could one day play with the New York Yankees, just like their fathers.
Both Reese and Caden were born in 2020, making them four years old. With both known to play Little League and ardently follow MLB, perhaps Tiffany's prediction could become truer one day.
After going 15-4 with a 2.63 ERA to win the AL Cy Young last season, the injury bug came for Gerrit Cole. Earlier this spring, it was announced that Cole would miss at least one month with ongoing elbow issues, leaving the club's rotation shorthanded.
The 34-year-old Ramirez will also be absent from his team's roster for their opening-day fixture against the Houston Astros on March 28.
After sitting out the entire 2022 season on account of Tommy John surgery, the California native surrendered five runs over 10 innings this spring and failed to make the opening day cut.
Gerrit Cole is important for the Yankees despite injury
Even though it may be summertime before Yankees fans see Gerrit Cole in action, the 33-year-old's importance for his team is far bigger than his playing ability.
"He’s really locked in on his recovery stuff right now, I can tell," fellow starter Clarke Schmidt said. "He’s super focused on it. So I think that’ll take a lot of his attention, but Gerrit’s still going to be Gerrit. So I think he’s going to be just as involved, if not more.”
Starting the season on the IL was far from what Cole had in mind. However, he remains committed to his recovery to return to the mound soon.