Rival Roundup, Vol. 35: The Rivals Are Coming From Inside the House

Jan 27, 2023 - 1:00 PM

But if I’m here —

And you’re there —

Who’s rounding up the rivals?

IT’S RIVAL ROUNDUP, DAAAAAAAAAAAWG

• Twinkie Town has got you covered with all those internal rivals — this week, some baker broke down the acquisition of TV’s Michael A. Taylor, and what it does to strengthen the depth of Minnesota’s 26-man roster, a collection of ragtag misfits that’s been sneakily improving as a unit since the last vestiges of the Bomba Squad were sent away.
• Elsewhere, the Chicago White Sox dominated the news cycle — a disappointing offseason got exponentially worse and filtered into the real world, with free agent acquisition Mike Clevinger under investigation for serious domestic violence allegations.
• In the same week, the Southsiders dialed in a more positive story with the contract extensions of both Jason Benetti and Steve Stone, who have become a beloved tandem - particularly among the more analytical viewing audience - for NBC Sports Chicago.

• If you’ve been following the GTA: Ohio saga, you’ll know that Terry Francona’s stolen scooter was recovered by Cleveland police. Now he’ll be able to ride safely to and from his residence, which I’m assuming in the winter is the home dugout at Progressive Field, just like how teachers sleep on their desks during summer vacation.

COURTESY: Cleveland Guardians

• The Royals kept on swap-diddly-doppin’, sending Adalberto Mondesi off to Boston in exchange for reliever Josh Taylor and a PTBNL.

• It seems like Mondesi has been around forever, and has had a few good seasons during that time, so I was surprised to see his bWAR tallies just 4.3 across seven big-league seasons — of course, he’s made it into just 358 major-league games since 2016.

All of Minnesota’s rivals, and their extended family of rivals (i.e., the other 25 teams in the league) are getting ever closer to resuming in-game action. Pitchers and catchers report in just over two weeks, and in-game Grapefruit/Cactus League action begins in under 30 days. Plus, we have the World Baseball Classic back to keep us placated until we all get our free hats at the home opener in April.

Until then, happy rounding, and remember - don’t count your ryes before they’re vul.