CLEVELAND — On Sept. 16, 2024, after Kyle Manzardo blasted a bellybutton-high heater into the Cleveland night for a go-ahead home run to nudge the Guardians one step closer to a division title, Josh Naylor waited for his teammate at home plate.Naylor applauded Manzardo as he completed his trot and then spread his arms wide for the rookie to accept a bear hug that would move their manager to tears. Stephen Vogt couldn’t conceal his emotion after the game as he reflected on that moment.By that point, Naylor was on borrowed time with the Guardians. His final season in Cleveland was an icy one, and everyone understood Manzardo was his eventual replacement at first base. Vogt didn’t tear up because the Guardians won a pivotal game; he was proud of the moment that unfolded at home plate, when Naylor set aside frustrations for the good of the team.Naylor’s history with the Guardians — and his reputation across the league — is complicated, and it’s under a magnifying glass after he and Cleveland catcher Austin Hedges exchanged insults Sunday at Progressive Field.In the sixth inning, Tim Herrin struck Naylor in the arm with a 77.7 mph curveball. The Guardians started chirping that he didn’t deserve first base. Naylor chirped back with some derogatory insults and hand gestures. And then Hedges, as revealed via a Jomboy Media audio clip, appeared to deliver the lines: “Nobody likes you. Literally, nobody likes you. Your own f—ing teammates don’t like you.”That’s not a response to a player refusing to duck out of the way of a curveball. That’s years of history and context bubbling over during a game in which the Guardians looked flat and sloppy before rallying for five runs in the eighth to notch what Vogt deemed “as big of a win as we’ve had all year.”Vogt didn’t shed any tears this time, but he did say the interaction between Naylor and Hedges was “right on par.”“(Naylor) went to first base and I heard him chirping,” Vogt said. “I figured it was two former teammates having a conversation from 90 feet away.”Hedges was not available for comment on Monday.When Naylor arrived in Cleveland as part of a six-player package for Mike Clevinger in August 2020, he was the life of the party, a constant source of energy. His fiery attitude on the field endeared him to teammates and irked opponents.In May 2022, he delivered a game-tying grand slam in the ninth inning against the White Sox and tacked on a go-ahead three-run shot in extra innings. When he returned to the dugout after the second homer, he repeatedly pounded his chest and shouted that he wanted “all the smoke” and then launched his helmet off the wall in the dugout. A month later, after he socked a walk-off homer, he delivered a celebratory head-butt to manager Terry Francona.