There is plenty to talk about on this week’s Pinwheels And Ivy Podcast. We’ll be going live at 8 p.m. CST on YouTube. You can also listen on your favorite podcast platform.

We certainly don’t like talking about awful things, but we can’t ignore MLB’s investigation of White Sox pitcher Mike Clevinger, who has been accused of domestic violence by the mother of his youngest child. You can read more details here and we’ll discuss several layers to the story. The White Sox were apparently not made aware of the ongoing investigation that began in the summer, when Clevinger was with the San Diego Padres. We’ll get into why the team was not told prior to signing him and a conversation on the lack of due diligence from the team.

After that we’ll go over some recent trades in the AL Central as the Kansas City Royals are dealing players and the Minnesota Twins are adding to their depth. How much of a difference will these moves make for the Twins. We know where the Royals are headed, another year of being bad.

And speaking of the Royals, Ken Rosenthal reported on Tuesday that the White Sox have been interested in trading for infielder Nicky Lopez. Kansas City is said to be unwilling to trade Lopez, but the apparent interest from the White Sox brings up more questions about whether or not they will look into a Nick Madrigal trade. Bob Nightengale recently wrote about how the White Sox could be a destination for Madrigal as the Cubs head into the 2023 season and beyond with Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner up the middle.

What do you think, should the White Sox explore a trade for a second baseman, go with their internal options or how about sign Elvis Andrus to play second in 2023?

The Cubs are also not done exploring the free agent market and have been linked to several left-handed relievers. We’ll discuss those options for the Cubs as well as Matt Barnes as a potential addition for the Cubs or White Sox.

Barnes was DFA’d by the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday and after he clears waivers the right-hander will be able to sign with any team. The 32-year-old missed time in 2022 with a shoulder injury, but he came back strong, recording a sub-2 ERA in his final 20 appearances for Boston. He was an All-Star closer in 2021, but he did struggle in the second half of that year, eventually losing the closer’s job. Nonetheless, he could still be a cheap option for the Cubs or White Sox.

Finally, we will talk about the baseball hall of fame. Scott Rolen, deserving or does he belong on the hall of very good? Or what about a few other players not getting in this time around?

So, join us live in the comments live tonight at 8 p.m. on YouTube.

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