The Baseball Buffet for 12/13/2025

KCR re-signs 3B Maikel Garcia. According to an article by Ann Rogers at MLB, 25-year old Maikel Garcia is finalizing a 5-year contract extension with a club option for 2031. Primarily a 3B, Garcia has also played some at 2B and SS during his four years in Kansas City. 2025 was his best season, as he hit .286 with a .351 OBP, 16 HR, 39 doubles, 74 RBI, and 23 SB. He has wheels, as he had 37 SB in 2024 even though he batted a lower .231.

TOR signs RP Tyler Rogers. According to an article by Theo DeRosa at MLB, the Blue Jays continued their active offseason by signing free agent reliever Tyler Rogers to 3-year, $37 million deal. Rogers, who will turn 35 in a few days, is an interesting player for several reasons, including his submarine-style motion and the fact that his twin brother Taylor Rogers is also a major league pitcher. Tyler has been very effective over his 7-year major league career, leading his league in games pitched four times, posting 13 saves with a 2.22 ERA in 2021 for the Giants, and then posting an impressive 1.98 ERA over 81 games between the Giants and Mets in 2025.

ATH signs RP Mark Leiter Jr. According to an article by Martín Gallegos at MLB, the Athletics are signing RP Mark Leiter Jr., who turns 35 in March, to a 1-year deal worth about $3 million. He has pitched six years in the majors spread across four different clubs, with 2025 spent with the Yankees where he had a 4.84 ERA with 54 K over 48.1 IP. Part of the Leiter baseball family, Mark Jr. is the son of Mark Leiter (1990-2001), nephew of Al Leiter (1987-2005), and cousin of Jack Leiter (2024- ).

TEX signs C Danny Jansen. According to an article by Brian Murphy and Kennedi Landry at MLB, the Rangers are signing 30-year old catcher Danny Jansen to a 2-year, $14.5 million deal. Jansen played parts of seven years with the Blue Jays, and has spent parts of the past two seasons with the Red Sox, Rays, and Brewers. He has some pop, with between 11-17 HR in five seasons, but has a low .220 career batting average.

1927: The Browns trade for OF Heinie Manush. “The Tigers trade OF Heinie Manush and 1B Lu Blue to the Browns for P Elam Vangilder and OF Harry Rice. Manush, who batted .298 for Detroit, will explode with the Browns, batting .378 with 108 RBI and a league-leading 241 hits.”

1930: George Sisler’s career comes to an end. “The 15-year career of George Sisler ends as the Boston Braves release him. A lifetime .340 hitter who twice led the American League with averages above .400, Sisler will be among the first to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, enshrined in 1939.”

1956: Jackie Robinson retires after rejecting a trade to the Giants. “The Dodgers trade Jackie Robinson to the cross-town rivals, the Giants, for pitcher Dick Littlefield and $35,000. Jackie, according to some accounts had already decided privately to leave the game to work for Chock Full of Nuts, publicly retires from baseball rather than accept the trade.”

1996: The Blue Jays sign Roger Clemens. “The Blue Jays sign free agent P Roger Clemens (10-13) to a three-year contract worth $24.75 million. The Red Sox's last-minute offer falls short and The Rocket's flirtation with the Yankees comes to naught.”

Hall of Famer

19-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1965-1983, with most of his time spent with the Cubs and Rangers

Three-time All-Star

Came in second in the Cy Young Vote twice, and also third twice, while winning the NL Cy Young Award in 1971 after leading the league in wins with a 24-13 record and complete games with 30, to go along with 263 K and a 2.77 ERA.

Won 20+ games seven times, including a career high 25 wins when he went 25-12 for the Rangers in 1974

Had 200+ strikeouts six times, including leading the NL with 273 K in 1969

He also had a generally low walk rate, leading his league in lowest BB per 9 IP in five seasons, and was regularly amongst the leaders in WHIP

He was a workhorse, pitching 300+ innings five times, posting 20+ complete games eight times, and leading his league in complete games four times

Overall had a 284-226 (.557) record, 3,192 strikeouts, a 3.34 ERA, and a 115 ERA+

Hall of Famer

17-year major league career, spanning from 1942-1959, starting as a 2B in the Negro Leagues and then playing primarily as a CF for the Indians and White Sox in the AL (missing most of 1944 and 1945 for military service)

Second player to break baseball's color barrier and the first black player in the American League

After returning from military service he had a strong season for the Newark Eagles in the Negro National League, batting .365 and leading the league with 85 hits and 10 triples in 59 games.

After playing part of 1947 with Newark, on July 5th, 1947 Doby played for the Indians in Chicago, breaking the AL color barrier. He later would have eight consecutive seasons with 20+ HR, including leading the AL with 32 HR in both 1952 and 1954.

Had five seasons with 100+ RBI, including leading the AL with 126 RBI in 1954.

Was an All-Star in eight seasons

Overall had 273 HR, 1,099 RBI, a .288/.389/.499 slash line, and a 140 OPS+

21-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1955-1975, mostly with the Cardinals and Yankees, but with eight seasons spread across the Cubs, Giants, and Royals

Was a mixed reliever and starter early in his career, but became a full-time reliever during the 1959 season.

Although saves weren't yet as prominent of a statistic as they would become later, he led his league in saves three times, and had 15+ saves five times.

Posted some impressive ERA marks as well, including 2.09 for the Cardinals in his one All-Star campaign in 1960, and later a 2.01 ERA for the Yankees in 1970.

Overall had 174 saves, a 141-119 (.542) record, a 3.45 ERA, and a 110 ERA+

10-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1898-1907, all with Chicago and St. Louis in the National League

Won 20+ games four times

Led the NL with 1.29 ERA in 1901, which equated to a 206 ERA+

Overall had a 152-139 record, a 2.65 ERA, and a 115 ERA+

12-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1948-1959, all with the Dodgers

Had a 20-6 record, 187 strikeouts, and 3.54 ERA in 1953, and then was an All-Star the following year, finishing with an 18-15 record and 166 strikeouts

Overall had a 122-78 (.610) record, a 4.00 ERA, and 101 ERA+

So far has had an 8-year major league career, all with the Yankees until signing as a free agent for the 2025 season with the Tigers

Was an All-Star in his first two seasons as a middle infielder when he hit .271 with 24 HR and 77 RBI in 2018 and then batted .278 with 38 HR and 90 RBI in 2019

Was an All-Star again in 2025 for the Tigers, with 16 HR and 74 RBI on the year

So far overall has 154 HR, a .264/.337/.433 slash line, and a 112 OPS+

After Alonso and Schwarber, here are 13 other FA power options, by Manny Randhawa at MLB, 12/12/2025

5 more free-agent relievers the Cubs could target, by David Adler at MLB, 12/12/2025

4 rotation options Yankees could consider, by Thomas Harrigan at MLB, 12/12/2025