Red Sox ratchet up rivalry by signing piece of Yankees' family

Move over, D'Angelo Ortiz! If your Red Sox dreams do come true, you might have to share a clubhouse with someone your dad used to hate and now only kind of hates.

Yes, in an effort to slap the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry up a notch, Boston has come to an agreement with -- you guessed it! -- 48-year-old former three-time MVP Alex Rodriguez, restarting his Cooperstown clock.

Nah, just kidding, not quite. But Boston did sign Rodriguez's nephew Joe Dunand, who recently slugged in the minors for the Marlins and Braves, reportedly assigning him to Triple-A Worcester on Thursday.

Recently, we wrote about how marrying the Yankees' Jeter Downs signing with a Dunand addition could lead to a fun bit of spring training competition. Now, after clearing waivers, Downs and Dunand will face off in the International League this season. Not bad.

Red Sox sign ex-Yankees MVP Alex Rodriguez ... 's nephew Joe Dunand

Dunand, initially a second-round pick out of NC State (the Triangle's baseball powerhouse) in 2017, has accrued a grand total of 10 at-bats at the big-league level, all coming with his hometown Miami Marlins. He went 3-for-10 with a bomb, which is roughly equivalent to his uncle's production, when you extrapolate it out over two decades.

In Dunand's most recent campaign, he smacked 17 bombs with an .843 OPS in 95 games, all spent with Triple-A Gwinnett in the Braves system last summer. Now, he'll bring that power potential to Boston's farm, where he'll have a solid chance to agitate on the other side of the rivalry.

Considering I'm pretty sure they don't let Rodriguez touch the Fenway Park turf himself when he's on hand for Sunday Night Baseball (I think they lock him in the Green Monster?), this might be the closest his genetics have gotten to that grass since the day he retired. Just don't let Dunand get too close to Jason Varitek's nephew...or Bronson Arroyo's nephew...or Ryan Dempst -- you know what, maybe just get him a locker in a separate room if he gets promoted.