Yoán Moncada pulled a double into the right-field corner during the second inning of an April 2 game against the Houston Astros last season at Minute Maid Park.

The Chicago White Sox third baseman doubled again — this time pulling a grounder that just stayed fair down the first-base line — in the sixth inning. Batting left-handed again, the switch-hitter capped the day by going the other way with a two-run home run to left field in the ninth.

Moncada had a strong start to the season, going 8-for-18 (.444) with two homers and four RBIs in the series against the Astros as he built off his All-Tournament Team performance for Cuba during the World Baseball Classic. Then came the back issues that led to two trips to the injured list.

“During the first half of that season, it was painful, stressful,” Moncada said through an interpreter Thursday at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago in Bridgeport. “I couldn’t do anything. I wanted to do stuff and help the team but I couldn’t. It was a really tough time for me.”

He was out from April 11-May 12 with lower back soreness and again June 14-July 25 with lower back inflammation.

Moncada rebounded after returning from the second IL stint, slashing .280/.323/.430 with two home runs and 12 RBIs in August and .298/.344/.560 with six home runs and 12 RBIs in September.

“Once I started getting better and stronger, I felt much better and I felt good,” Moncada said. “That was why I was able to finish the way that I did and that’s how I feel right now.”

The 28-year-old is aiming to use that late-season bounce back as a springboard for 2024.

“He feels great, the back feels great, he’s motivated,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “He’s going to get to spring training early on the 31st of January or first of February, which is a great sign and he’s going to put himself in a position to have a great year. We need Moncada.

“He’s motivated to having a full season under his belt, which is good for him.”

Moncada slashed .260/.305/.425 with 11 home runs and 40 RBIs in 2023. After appearing in 144 games in 2021, Moncada played 104 games in 2022 and 92 in 2023.

His offseason work has included strengthening his abs, back and legs to “get all that core really strong,” he said.

“The way I’m preparing myself for this coming season is to play 202 games,” Moncada said, when asked about attempting to play as close to 162 games as possible. “That’s an exaggeration, but that’s how I’m preparing myself.

“I want to be healthy. I want to be on the field every day.”

Moncada said he is motivated and excited because he’s healthy.

“That’s the only thing I want — if I’m healthy, I know I can do a lot of good things in the field,” Moncada said. “I’m excited right now to get to spring training and start working.

“I think God has saved something good for me. Hopefully we are going to see that. Hopefully I’ll be able to be healthy and really show and really display all I can do on the field.”

Moncada’s best season was in 2019, when he established career highs in several categories, including OPS (.915), doubles (34), home runs (25) and RBIs (79). He signed a five-year, $70 million extension in March 2020 — a deal in which the Sox hold an option for $25 million in 2025 with a $5 million buyout.

The solid defensive third baseman knows he’ll be fielding questions from reporters about the future.

“I would love to stay with the White Sox if they want me here,” Moncada said. “I’m very thankful for the White Sox for the opportunity they have given me after I was traded from the Red Sox (in December 2016). They’ve been treating me very well. I like the organization, I like the city, I like the fans. I would like to stay here.”

()

The saying around the Timberwolves’ locker room is consistently that Karl-Anthony Towns has sacrificed more than any player on Minnesota’s roster.

Coach Chris Finch states that whenever the opportunity arises, and Towns is quick to echo the sentiment. Yes, Towns – sidelined for the next few weeks, at minimum, with a torn meniscus – had to switch positions because of Rudy Gobert’s arrival and cede a few shots because of Anthony Edwards’ arrival.

It’s only natural for Minnesota to praise one of its star players for giving an inch or a foot in the middle of his supposed prime, because that’s what’s best for the team at large. That’s an unexpected sacrifice in the middle of your career.

But don’t let it cast a shadow on the veteran point guard who’s giving up just as much – at least – simply because that’s what’s expected.

Mike Conley was named an all-star for the first time in his career during the 2020-21 campaign, when he averaged 16 points and six assists for the top team in the Western Conference while shooting 41 percent from distance. Conley suffered a hamstring injury in the ensuing playoffs, which potentially cost Utah a shot at a deep postseason run.

The Jazz were ousted in the semifinals of the West playoffs that season, and in the first roundof the next. As a result, Gobert and Donovan Mitchell were shipped out of Utah for loads of draft picks, among other assets.

That left Utah with loads of young players, picks and no sturdy direction. But still present was Conley, who quickly moved from star guard to savvy vet.

He handled the transition with ease. His mastery of the game allowed the young players around him to find their respective footings and blossom. Lauri Markkanen became an all-star. Walker Kessler developed into a Rookie of the Year candidate. Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson scored with relative ease. Everyone appeared to be the best versions of themselves as Utah elbowed its way firmly into the West’s playoff picture.

That required sacrifice from Conley, whose point and shot totals precipitously dipped in the name of team success. The guard has achieved the same result since being dealt to Minnesota 13 months ago.

He knows how to impact the game in ways beyond shot attempts. Many of those around him do not, so it behooves the team for Conley to do more with less so others can do more with more. For outsiders, that sacrifice is viewed as decline.

It’s one thing if Towns dips from 24 points to 22 on one fewer shot attempt per game. That’s what happens when you’re surrounded by more talent. That’s part of winning.

That sacrifice was awarded with another all-star selection this winter.

Conley’s usage number (which estimates the percentage of a team’s possessions a player uses while on the floor) dipped to just 15.2 percent this season. That’s easily the lowest of his career, and a number that sits below those belonging to Gobert and Jaden McDaniels.

Conley’s decreasing numbers are treated from the outside as a sign of age. He’s 36 years old, of course. Obviously, he’s not the same player he was just three short seasons ago. That’s what the numbers say. The contract extension he inked recently aligns with that more of a solid player than a really good one.

Which makes sense. After all, heading into the past week, Conley hadn’t scored 20 points in a single game this season.

But a closer look reveals that’s because he hasn’t been asked to do so. Conley has – by his own admission and, sometimes to the chagrin of Finch – passed up his own offense in the name of movement of ball and bodies. If he has a good look in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock, he’s likely to pass it up to find a teammate and serve as a prime example of at least trying to turn a good shot into a great one. He truly believes that sacrifice is required for Minnesota’s offense to make a leap toward championship caliber.

That has, indeed, been a sacrifice of his own offense. Because as this past week has cemented, Conley still can score. The guard, who’s shooting a nuclear 44 percent from deep this season, is averaging 24 points a game over Minnesota’s last two games – both victories.

“It’s just that time of year we’re in, we’ve got a bunch of guys in and out of the lineup, Finchy has asked all of us guards to be more aggressive, and guys were finding me in spots to make plays and knock down the shots,” Conley told reporters after Minnesota’s win Saturday in Utah, in which he scored 24 points. “So I was getting great looks because of those guys. Got out in transition a few times and got real comfortable after that.”

This timing is a perfect storm of sorts for Conley, who had already planned to pick up his offensive aggression in the latter stages of the campaign. He knows he has to be a legitimate scoring threat come playoffs, when opponents load up to stop Anthony Edwards and Towns.

Pair that with the absence of Towns and, even Saturday, Gobert, and Conley’s offensive production has gone from a want to a need.

“When I’m running off pindowns, I know it’s for me to shoot the ball,” Conley said.

Over its past two games, Minnesota is scoring 122.8 points per 100 possessions – one of the team’s best mini stretches of offense all season. That this stretch is coinciding with Conley flashing the form – and, perhaps more importantly, the aggression – he possessed in Utah and Memphis hardly feels like a coincidence.

The game of the guard who has sacrificed in silence over the past year is starting to speak loudly.

“It’s giving me a good rhythm to be aggressive and look for your shot more and try to get to the paint more and get to the free-throw line. It’s not a coincidence that I’m getting to the free-throw line now more than I have the last couple months,” Conley said. “That’s going to continue and hopefully it helps me and everybody catch a good rhythm going into the playoffs.”

Aaron Jones was given multiple chances to throw shade during his introductory press conference with the Vikings.

Nobody would’ve blamed him for taking the bait. Not with how easily the Green Bay Packers moved on from him last week in favor of the younger Josh Jacobs.

Whenever his former team got brought up, however, Jones decided to take the high road. He emphasized that Chapter 1 of his career was over. He promised that Chapter 2 was going to be beautiful.

“This is my focus,” Jones said. “I’m not worried about the Packers. I’m with the Vikings, and I feel like we have a really good roster. We have the pieces that we need here.”

He’s a big part of that. It’s no secret that the Vikings wanted to add more talent to the backfield this offseason, and they did so by signing Jones to one-year, $7 million contract. He became a top priority for the Vikings as soon as the Packers released him.

“This is a guy that’s had the type of impact we were looking for to add to our room,” head coach Kevin O’Connell said. “I’m really, really excited to start getting to work with him.”

The stats have spoken for themselves ever since Jones got selected in the fifth round of the 2017 draft. He has established himself as a playmaker, recording 1,177 carries for 5,940 yards and 45 touchdowns. He has also proved himself as a versatile option out of the backfield, hauling in 272 receptions for 2,076 yards and 18 touchdowns.

That explains why the Vikings immediately targeted Jones regardless of the fact that he turns 30 this season.

“We get the conversation about running backs and age and different things like that,” general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said. “Maybe that dynamic has gone a little too far to the other side, and teams are realizing that there are still really good players at their value. It’s a position where we can really upgrade performance pretty efficiently. We’re excited to have him.”

The skill set that Jones brings with him should pair nicely with young running back Ty Chandler. He’s also bringing a passion that has always made everybody around him better. He expects that to continue to burn inside of him regardless of circumstance.

“Just because they didn’t re-sign me doesn’t add fuel to the fire,” Jones said. “My fire has already been lit, and it’s going to stay lit. I’m on a mission to be the best running back in the NFL. I’m glad I get to prove that here in Minnesota with a great organization.

What does he think it will be like going back to Lambeau Field for the first time? That was the only time Jones dropped a hint that he might be out for some revenge.

“It’s going to be fun,” Jones said with a smile. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – DECEMBER 31: Aaron Jones #33 of the Green Bay Packers rushes during the first quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on December 31, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Related Articles

Dane Mizutani: Was the Kirk Cousins era with Vikings a failure? It certainly wasn’t a success.

Vikings acquire No. 23 pick in 2024 NFL Draft in trade with Texans

Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold knows his role: ‘Just excited to be able to compete’

Inside the 24 hours that pushed the Vikings into the future

Source: Vikings agree to terms with defensive tackle Jerry Tillery