The Baseball Buffet for 1/16/2026

Dodgers sign OF Kyle Tucker. According to an article by Sonja Chen at MLB, the Dodgers are signing OF Kyle Tucker to a 4-year, $240 million contract. Tucker was the first-round draft pick (5th overall) in 2015 by the Astros. After two brief seasons in the majors, he became a regular in the shortened 2020 season. He hit 30 HR in both 2021 and 2022, and then led the AL with 112 RBI in 2023 while almost making the 30/30 club with 29 HR and 30 SB. A four-time All-Star, he was injured for much of 2024 but still managed to bat .289 with 23 HR in 78 games for the Astros. They traded him to the Cubs after that season, and he started out hot in 2025, but then suffered from a finger injury and a calf strain and ended the year with a .266 average, 22 HR, and 25 SB in 136 games.

The Dodgers, obviously looking to three-peat, have addressed two big needs this off-season by signing Edwin Díaz as their closer, and now bringing on Kyle Tucker as another great bat in their potent offense. He’ll presumably play RF with Teoscar Hernández shifting to LF and Andy Pages seeing a lot of the games in CF (with Mookie Betts at SS these days).

Rockies sign utility man Willi Castro. According to an article by Jason Foster at MLB, the Rockies are signing IF/OF Willi Castro to a 2-year deal. Castro is a switch-hitter and will turn 29 in late April, So far he has played seven seasons in the majors with the Tigers, Twins, and Cubs. He was an All-Star in 2024 when he scored 89 runs with 31 doubles, though batted only .247 on the year. In 2025 he was dealt by the Twins to the Cubs at the trade deadline and overall had a .226 average with 11 HR and 10 SB in 120 games.

Some of Castro’s value comes from his defensive versatility, as so far in the majors he has played 80 or more games at 2B, 3B, SS, RF, CF, and LF. The Rockies in 2026 are solid at SS with Ezequiel Tovar, and all the three OF spots in the sense that they have Jordan Beck in LF, Brenton Doyle in CF, and several guys who will compete for the RF at-bats. Unless they make other moves, 2B and 3B seem pretty wide open, so Castro could either win one of those positions outright, or see significant time at both as Colorado tries out various guys.

Three team trade involving Josh Lowe and Gavin Lux. According to an article by Martín Gallegos at MLB, the Angels, Reds, and Rays have made a trade as follows:

Angels receive: OF Josh Lowe
Reds receive: LHP Brock Burke
Rays receive: INF Gavin Lux, minor-league RHP Chris Clark

Josh Lowe will turn 28 in early February, and had his best season in 2023 when he batted .292 with 20 HR and 32 SB in 135 games. He has only hit .241 with 10 HR and 25 SB in 106 games in 2024, and then .220 with 11 HR and 18 SB in 108 games in 2025. The Angels will hope he has a bounce-back season in 2026 while playing both RF and LF.

Brock Burke is 29 years old and has pitched five years in the majors for the Rangers and Angels. The lefty last year had a 3.36 ERA with 52 K in 61.2 IP over 69 appearances for Los Angeles, and projects to play an important role in the Reds bullpen in 2026.

Gavin Lux was the first-round draft pick (20th overall) in 2016 by the Dodgers. He played in limited games in 2019 and 2020, then has played 100+ games each year since, except in 2023 when he was out for the entire year with an injury. After the 2024 season, the Dodgers traded Lux to the Reds, but in 2025 he didn’t produce a lot on offense with a .269 average, 5 HR, and 1 SB in 140 games. Now 28 years old, he has mostly played 2B with some time spent at SS and LF. Going into Spring Training he would seem to be the frontrunner for the starting 2B job in Cincinnati.

OF Rickey Henderson - Athletics (1979-84), Mariners (2000), Red Sox (2002)

SP Phil Niekro - Braves (1964-83, 87) and three other clubs

1B/DH Frank Thomas - White Sox (1990-2005), Athletics (2006, 08), Blue Jays (2007-08)

SP Mike Mussina - Orioles (1992-2000), Yankees (2001-08)

SP Justin Verlander - Tigers (2006-17), Astros (2017-20, 22-24) and two other clubs

SP Cole Hamels - Phillies (2006-15), Rangers (2015-18), Cubs (2018-19)

SP Bob Welch - Dodgers (1978-87), Athletics (1988-94)

OF/1B Cody Bellinger - Dodgers (2017-22), Yankees (2025)

SS Brandon Crawford - Giants (2011-23), Cardinals (2024)

C Manny Sanguillén - Pirates (1967, 69-76, 78-80), Athletics (1977)

SP Mike Cuellar - Cardinals (1964), Astros (1965-68), Orioles (1969-76), Angels (1977)

SP Randy Jones - Padres (1973-80), Mets (1981-82)

1970: Curt Flood files his lawsuit. “Gold Glove outfielder Curt Flood files a lawsuit challenging the reserve clause, which binds major league players to teams perpetually. Flood had been traded by the St. Louis Cardinals to the Philadelphia Phillies on October 7, 1969, but has refused to report to the Phillies. Flood contends that the reserve clause violates antitrust laws. He will lose the suit but the judge will suggest changes to the reserve system, opening the door for salary arbitration and free agency.”

1974: Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford are elected to the Hall of Fame. “The Baseball Writers Association of America elects former New York Yankees teammates Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford to the Hall of Fame. Mantle becomes only the seventh player to make it in his first try. His 536 home runs with the Yankees rank second only to Babe Ruth, and he played in more games (2,401) than any other pinstriper, including Lou Gehrig. Ford was arguably the greatest Yankees pitcher of all time, retiring with more wins (236), innings pitched (3,171), strikeouts (1,956), and shutouts (45) than anyone in club history.”

2001: Dave Winfield and Kirby Puckett are elected to the Hall of Fame. “Outfielders Dave Winfield and Kirby Puckett are elected to the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. The former Minnesota Twins are the fourth pair of teammates selected by BBWAA in the same year.”

22-year major league career, spanning from 2001-2022, mostly with the Cardinals and Angels

Began as a 3B and LF, but quickly pivoted to 1B where he won two Gold Glove Awards

Was NL Rookie of the Year in 2001 after batting .329 with 37 HR, 47 doubles, 130 RBI, and 112 runs

11-time All-Star and won three NL MVP Awards in 2005, 2008, and 2009

Led the NL with a .359 batting average in 2003, led in HR twice, runs five times, and RBI and doubles once each

Had 30+ HR an impressive 14 times, 100+ RBI 14 times, and 100+ runs ten times

Given length of his career and relative lack of speed, he is the all-time leader in times grounded into a double play with 426

Was often a good performer in the postseason, including winning the NLCS MVP in 2004 when he went 14-28 with 4 HR, 9 RBI, and 10 runs. Overall in the postseason he had 19 HR in 88 games with a .319 average and .422 OBP

Overall had 3,384 hits, 1,914 runs, 2,218 RBI, 703 HR, 684 doubles, a .296/.374/.544 slash line, and a 145 OPS+

Hall of Famer

12-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1930-1941, with the Cardinals and Cubs (and one final game with the Browns in 1947)

Led the NL in strikeouts in his first four full seasons from 1932-35

Was NL MVP in 1934 when he had a 2.66 ERA and led the NL in wins with a 30-7 record. Was also critical in the World Series as he had a 1.73 ERA over three starts and 26 IP.

Four-time All-Star, and came in second in the MVP vote in both 1935 and 1936

A foot injury suffered during the 1937 All-Star game led him to change his pitching style, which in time hurt his arm and lessened his effectiveness. He retired after pitching just one game in 1941 at only age 31.

Overall had a 150-83 (.644) record, a 3.02 ERA, and a 131 ERA+

He became a very popular radio and television broadcaster from 1941-1965

His younger brother Paul Dean was also a major league pitcher, and they were teammates for the Cardinals from 1934-1936

Hall of Famer

14-year major league career, spanning from 1895-1908, mostly with Boston in both the NL and AL

Was a very good defensive 3B and often led his league in several fielding statistics at the hot corner

Hit over .300 five times, with a high mark of .346 in 1897 when he had 132 RBI even though he only managed 6 HR

Led the NL with 15 HR the following season, to go with 111 RBI and 107 runs

Had some speed on the bases too, with 15+ SB six times

Overall had 116 triples, 1,055 runs, 194 SB, a .294/.343/.409 slash line, and a 113 OPS+

First-round draft pick (5th overall) in 1987 by the White Sox, and did well in four starts for them that year with a 1.93 ERA and only 16 hits allowed in 28 IP

12-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1987-1999, mostly with the White Sox, but finishing his final five seasons with the Yankees, Indians, and Angels

Three-time All-Star, and won the AL Cy Young Award in 1993 after posting a 3.37 ERA and leading the league in wins with a 22-10 record

Overall had a 127-87 (.593) record, a 3.85 ERA, and a 111 ERA+

10-year major league career, spanning from 2010-2019, mostly with the Angels, Orioles, and Diamondbacks

Two-time All-Star

Had 20+ HR six times, including leading the AL with 47 HR in 2016

Played a mix of 1B, RF, LF, and DH

Overall had 218 HR, a .249/.302/.459 slash line, and a 108 OPS+

Drafted by the Yankees in the second round in 1978, and then slugged his way up through their minor league system over many years, seeing limited playing time with New York from 1981-83

Hit 28 HR in 1984, his first of five consecutive seasons with 20+ HR, including a career high of 36 HR in 1985

Was nicknamed "Bye Bye Balboni" because of his HR power

Overall had 181 HR but also struck out a lot and had only a .229 career batting average

6,856 - Hank Aaron

6,211 - Albert Pujols

6,134 - Stan Musial

6,080 - Willie Mays

International signing period is open! Here's where top prospects are going, by Jesse Borek at MLB, 1/15/2026