The term “evil empire” used to be synonymous with the New York Yankees, but now the Bronx Bombers look absolutely tame and tepid alongside the Los Angeles Dodgers, a money-spending, player-hording, behemoth of a team that appears willing to hoover up any talent in sight to maintain their World Series-winning ways.
The latest example? The Dodgers just doled out $69 million over three seasons to get premier closer Edwin Diaz, previously with that other New York team. But it’s not just the guys tossing the ball around on the baseball diamond that the Dodgers apparently have an interest in.
Coming straight from the “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em file,” former Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, who was fired at the end of the 2025 season, is now a member of the Dodgers brain trust after he was named a special assistant to Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations for the boys in blue.
Baldelli and Friedman knew each other in Tampa where Rocco was a player and later a coach for the Rays, while Friedman was a former successful general manager of the club.
What’s that expression? The rich get richer. Who else will the Dodgers snap up this offseason?
Extra innings…
–Former Twins outfielder Carson McCusker, who appeared to be a slugger in the making, given his 6-foot-8 frame, is gone after the Twins released him.
He has since signed a deal to play baseball in Japan for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, according to MLB Trade Rumors.
Although McCusker hit 55 home runs across three seasons in the minor leagues, he collected only five hits in 16 games for the Twins in 2025. And not a single dinger was among those five hits.
–Experienced a cold chill opening baseball cards with a friend the other day. He had a box of unopened cards from 1993, so we cracked open a few packs. The first one I opened produced a Kirby Puckett card that just happened to be stuck to a Dennis Martinez card. That was followed by a long pause. Know what I mean?