“He’s an Awesome Teammate,” Josh Naylor DEFENDS Cal Raleigh After Catcher Declines Handshake with Him During WBC

Josh Naylor would speak highly of his teammate, Cal Raleigh, and claim he was joking with him after the catcher turned his handshake request down as well.

“He’s an Awesome Teammate,” Josh Naylor DEFENDS Cal Raleigh After Catcher Declines Handshake with Him During WBC

Josh Naylor and Cal Raleigh (Image via MLB/X/@LuisGilbertLop)

In the quarter-final clash on Friday between the USA and Canada at the World Baseball Classic, Cal Raleigh once again declined a handshake. This time, he turned down Josh Naylor. After some heat from the fans, Naylor came to the defense of his Seattle Mariners teammate and claimed he was just messing with him.

The 2025 MLB Home Run leader has found his name trending on social media for some unwanted results. During the game against Mexico, Raleigh would decline to shake hands with one of his teammate, Randy Arozarena.

As the 2-time All-Star came to bat, he would try to shake hands with Raleigh. The USA catcher would turn him down.

Arozarena was not pleased with this. Following their 5-3 defeat, the outfielder would sound off on Raleigh. In a post-game interview in Spanish, he would drop some NSFW comments regarding the catcher’s action.

That fake a** “good to see you” he hit me with? He can shove it straight up his a**. I’m out.

Randy Arozarena said regarding Cal Raleigh

The American international would try to tone down the situation a bit. Before their game against Italy, Raleigh claimed that he “loves” Arozarena and had reached out to him.

I love Randy, I do. I hate that this is a thing. There’s no beef.

Cal Raleigh said in his response

On Friday, the United States took on Canada in the quarter-finals. Unlike the ice hockey clashes, the Americans were heavy favorites to win this encounter.

While they did just that and emerged as 5-3 winners. Josh Naylor, who hit a 2-run home run to cut the deficit from 5-1 to 5-3, was unable to help his side cause a major shock in the WBC.

Naylor, though, did steal some headlines after he got snubbed by Raleigh in the batter’s box. Just like with Arozarena, the catcher would decline to take part in any handshake.

Raleigh would once again face some backlash regarding this as fans on social media slammed him. After the game, Naylor opened up about the incident and claimed it was a joke and expressed that he loves his club teammate.

No, we were all just joking. I’m trying to really make light of the situation. I texted him before that I was going to do it and he said, please don’t. But me and Cal are really good friends. He’s an awesome teammate.

Josh Naylor said regarding Cal Raleigh

As per reports, Raleigh had told Arozarena not to try shaking hands with him during the game. Despite this, the former Tampa Bay Rays star would extend his hand towards him.

Speaking of Naylor, he joined the Mariners after being traded by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the middle of the season last year. After becoming a free agent, he would re-sign with the AL West side on a 5-year, $92.5 million deal.

Randy Arozarena seems to still be upset with Cal Raleigh with handshake snub

Randy Arozarena would not like what Cal Raleigh did to him during the USA-Mexico game. Despite the catcher claiming that there is “no beef” between them, the outfielder seems to still be upset about this incident.

Cal Raleigh and Randy Arozarena
Cal Raleigh and Randy Arozarena (Image via ClutchPoints)

After his explosive comments against his teammate, Arozarena did not make any statement before Mexico’s game against Italy. Just as it seemed like things were calming down, Willson Contreras re-ignited the drama.

On Thursday, during the game between the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, Contreras and Fernando Tatis Jr. would share a warm moment and embrace each other.

The catcher would then share several videos of this on his Instagram stories. Arozarena would end up sharing one of the stories of the Boston Red Sox star on his handle and then share a photo of him smiling with Brazil’s Osvaldo Carvalho.

It will be interesting to see how this situation pans out from here. For now, the Mariners catcher will turn his attention to the semi-finals of the WBC as the USA takes on the Dominican Republic.

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