Issue #481

The goal with The Baseball Buffet series is to provide the best daily dose of relevant baseball info in a smart-brevity format (mostly short bullets, getting to the point, with quick analysis/insights.) Think of it like what baseball fans of a certain age would look forward to in their morning newspaper’s sports section each day!

⚾ Welcome! ⚾

The offseason continued pushing forward yesterday, with several more transactions of note:

  • DET signs RP Kenley Jansen. According to an article by Jason Beck at MLB, 38-year old Kenley Jansen is signing with the Detroit Tigers for a 1-year deal with a club option for 2027. Jansen is the active leader with 476 saves, just two behind Lee Smith for third on MLB’s all-time leaderboard. Last year Jansen was effective for the Angels, with 29 saves and a 2.59 ERA, his lowest since 2021. The Tigers signing Jansen is interesting as they recently re-signed RP Kyle Finnegan who also has had success as a closer, and they still have RP Will Vest who had 23 saves and a 3.01 ERA for them in 2025. In today’s game, I guess you can’t have too many late-inning relievers.

  • NYM signs infielder Jorge Polanco. According to an article by Anthony DiComo and Theo DeRosa at MLB, the New York Mets are signing infielder Jorge Polanco to a 2-year deal for $40 million. The 32-year old switch-hitting Polanco of course last made headlines with some postseason heroics for the Mariners, including hitting two HR off Tarik Skubal in game two of the ALDS, a walk-off hit in game 5 that sent Seattle to the ALCS, and more. He had a bounce-back campaign during the regular season too, with a .265 average, 26 HR, and 78 RBI, which is far better than his .213 average in 2024. He recently has been mostly a 2B, but the Mets just traded Brandon Nimmo for 2B Marcus Semien. Polanco also has played SS and 3B, but the most likely spots for him in 2026 will apparently be 1B (if he can learn the position, as he has only played one game there in the majors) and of course DH too.

  • NYY re-sign IF/OF Amed Rosario. According to an article by Bryan Hoch at MLB, the Yankees are re-signing the versatile Amed Rosario for a 1-year, $2.5 million deal. The 30-year old Rosario gives them position versatility as he has mostly played SS during his career, but can also play 2B, 3B, and all three OF spots. He saw limited action last year, splitting his time between the Nationals and the Yankees, batting .276 with 6 HR and 1 SB in 62 games.

  • STL signs RHP Dustin May. According to an article by Jared Greenspan and John Denton at MLB, the Cardinals are signing SP Dustin May to a 1-year deal. May was a prospect for many years in the Dodgers’ organization, but needed Tommy John surgery in 2021, and then more surgeries mid-way through the 2023 season. He didn’t pitch in the majors in 2024, and then was traded to the Red Sox at the deadline in 2025. Between LAD and BOS in 2025 he had a 4.96 ERA with 123 K in 132.1 IP over 23 starts. I would assume Matthew Liberatore, Andre Pallante, and Michael McGreevy are most likely the Cardinals’ front three starters, and that May will be competing with Kyle Leahy, Richard Fitts, and perhaps others for the final two spots in their rotation.

There was also one trade of note yesterday too, as reported by Anne Rogers at MLB:

  • KCR gets Isaac Collins, RP Nick Mears

  • MIL gets RP Ángel Zerpa

The 28-year old Collins played LF in 2025, and came in fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year Award vote after batting .263 with 9 HR and 16 SB in 130 games. It would seem likely he will be the Royal’s primary LF, with Kyle Isbel in CF, Jac Caglianone in RF, and the also newly acquired Lane Thomas as the versatile fourth OF playing some in all three spots.

As for the RP exchange here, RHP Nick Mears is 29 years old and had a 3.49 ERA with 46 K in 56.2 IP for the Brewers in 2025, while LHP Ángel Zerpa is 26 years old and had a 4.18 with 58 K in 64.2 IP for the Royals.

Today’s Trivia Question

One of today's Birthday Boys highlighted below is Hall of Famer Craig Biggio. He played his entire career for the Astros, and so is at or near the top of many of their leaderboards. His 291 career HR rank third for the Astros—can you name any of the other four guys who had 200+ HR for the Astros? And his 414 career SB rank second all-time for the franchise—can you name any of the other three guys who had 250+ SB for the Astros? (Hint: only one other player is like Biggio in having both 200+ HR and 250+ SB for the Astros.)

Become a Baseball Buffet All Star!

I recently shared that I had reached my two goals for 2025 with my baseball writing:

  • Publish a new daily series, The Baseball Buffet, every day of the season. Not only did I not miss any days of the regular season, but I kept going for the postseason and every day since! (And if you’ve subscribed only recently, say during the postseason or since, take a look at the 9/13 edition as an example of what each Baseball Buffet issue looked like during the regular season.)

  • Reach 10,000 free subscribers. I started the year with about 600 free subscribers, mostly readers who had been following my periodic newsletter posts since 2022. Along with launching the daily Baseball Buffet series this year, I also invested in Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram), and that is how the vast majority of current subscribers joined the fun this year.

What’s next?

I have even more ambitious goals for 2026 and beyond. I want to grow my readership into the hundreds of thousands, and long term I want to earn my living, full-time, from my baseball writing work (this newsletter and other baseball writing projects in the works.)

So to provide readers like you with more baseball goodness, including and especially fueling the further growth of The Baseball Buffet, I am launching the Baseball Buffet All-Star subscription. This will include:

  • You’ll get access to the full content of every day’s Baseball Buffet newsletter. Starting in a few weeks, free subscribers will get a shortened summary edition only.

  • You’ll get periodic additional articles from me on a range of baseball topics. These will be similar to what I wrote from 2022 to early 2025, before starting the daily Baseball Buffet series. Topics will various baseball dream teams, unique deep-dive player profiles, specific topical analysis, and more.

  • You’ll have a chance to win monthly baseball collectibles/memorabilia! This will be fun… some extra baseball goodness of a different kind! Baseball Buffet All-Star subscribers will be entered into monthly give-away drawings for an assortment of baseball collectibles/memorabilia (cards, pins, magazines, figurines, helmets, etc.) from the favorite team of each winner. I’ll share photos of these box prize lots so all readers can see what the lucky winners got! 

So how much? How does 8 cents a day sound?!

That’s right… from now until December 31 I’m running a special “Thank You” promotional rate for all of my existing readers in 2025 — just $28 for the first year (which is 60% off what the regular annual rate will be).

To subscribe at this special rate for 2026, just visit the Upgrade page (also linked in this newsletter’s website top navigation). For the discounted annual rate (available through December 31st!) just toggle the All Star subscription option from Month to Year and you’ll see it displayed.

Thank you, and I hope you will consider becoming an All Star subscriber!

Tom Stone


On this day in baseball history…

Here is what stands out to me for this day in baseball history. All quoted descriptions are from baseball-reference.com.

📅 On December 14…

  • 1911: Pitching ERA becomes official. “The earned run average (ERA) is adopted as an official statistic.”

  • 1948: The Indians trade for pitcher Early Wynn. “The Cleveland Indians acquire future Hall of Fame pitcher Early Wynn and first baseman Mickey Vernon from the Washington Senators for first baseman Eddie Robinson and pitchers Joe Haynes and Eddie Klieman. Vernon will go back to Washington in 1950 but Wynn will stay in Cleveland and will win 163 games for the Indians over the next nine seasons.”

  • 1960: The AL has its first expansion draft. “The two new American League franchises, the first expansion teams in over a half of a century, select their rosters in the first ever expansion draft. The Los Angeles Angels make New York Yankees pitcher Eli Grba the first selection of the draft, and the "new" Washington Senators follow by tabbing another Yankee pitcher, Bobby Shantz. Among the Angels selections also are Jim Fregosi (SS), Ted Kluszewski (1B) and Albie Pearson (OF). Washington selections include Chuck Hinton (OF), Gene Woodling (OF) and Hal Woodeshick (P).”

  • 1976: The Padres sign Rollie Fingers and Gene Tenace. “The San Diego Padres sign veteran free agents Rollie Fingers and Gene Tenace, who helped the Oakland Athletics to three consecutive World Championships from 1972 to 1974.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

Craig Biggio (1965)

  • Hall of Famer

  • First-round draft pick (22nd overall) in 1987 by the Houston Astros

  • 20-year major league career, spanning from 1988-2007, entirely with the Astros

  • Started out as a catcher, then switched to 2B where he won four Gold Glove Awards, then also played CF and LF for a couple of years too

  • Seven-time All-Star

  • Had some power, with 20+ HR eight times, but never more than 26 in a season

  • Had ample speed on the bases, with 20+ SB nine times, including an NL leading 39 SB in the shortened 1994 season, and then career highs of 47 SB in 1997 and 50 SB in 1998

  • Had 100+ runs eight times, including NL-leading 123 runs in 1995 and 146 runs in 1997

  • Hit a lot of doubles, leading the NL three times, including highs of 51 doubles in 1998 and 56 doubles in 1999

  • Overall had 3,060 hits, 668 doubles, 291 HR, 1,844 runs, 414 SB, a .281/.363/.433 slash line, and a 112 OPS+

Bill Buckner (1949-2019)

  • 22-year major league career, spanning from 1969-1990, mostly with the Dodgers, Cubs, and Red Sox

  • Played mostly LF and RF early in his career, then shifted primarily to 1B

  • Had modest power, with 14-18 HR five times, and 100+ RBI three times

  • Had 31 SB in 1974 and 28 SB in 1976

  • Hit .324 for the Cubs in 1980, taking home the NL batting title

  • Was an All-Star in 1981 when he hit .311 with 10 HR, 75 RBI, and an NL-leading 35 doubles in a strike-shortened 106 games

  • Infamously committed a crucial error while playing 1B for the Red Sox in 1986, in game 6 of the World Series against the Mets. A slow ground ball hit by Mookie Wilson in the bottom of the 10th inning rolled through Buckner's legs, allowing the game-winning, series-tying run to score and forcing a game seven.

  • Overall had 2,715 hits, 1,208 RBI, 174 HR, 183 SB, and a .289/.321/.408 slash line

Ryan McMahon (1994)

  • So far has played nine years in the majors, mostly with the Rockies until being traded at the deadline in 2025 to the Yankees.

  • Has hit between 20-24 HR in six seasons

  • Was an All-Star for Colorado in 2024 and has provided good defense at both 3B and 2B

  • Strikes out a lot, with 150+ K in five seasons, and a high of 198 K in 2023

  • Overall so far has 144 HR and a .239/.322/.416 slash line

Dave Nilsson (1969)

  • 8-year major league career, spanning from 1992-1999, entirely with the Brewers

  • One of a relative few major leaguers who have come from Australia

  • Started primarily as a catcher, then switched to the OF and 1B, and finally back to catcher for his final season when he was an All-Star and hit .309 with 21 HR in 115 games

  • Batted .331 with 17 HR and 84 RBI in 1996

  • Overall had 105 HR, a .284/.356/.461 slash line, and a 110 OPS+

Billy Koch (1974)

  • First-round draft pick (4th overall) in 1996 by the Blue Jays

  • 6-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1999-2004, playing for the Blue Jays, Athletics, White Sox, and Marlins

  • Had a strong rookie campaign for Toronto in 1999 with 31 saves and a 3.39 ERA

  • That was the first of four consecutive seasons with 30+ saves, including a career-high 44 saves for the A's in 2002

  • Overall had 163 saves, a 3.89 ERA, and a 120 ERA+

In addition to Ryan McMahon, other currently active players who were born on December 14 include BAL Taylor Ward, Adam Frazier (free agent), and Chuckie Robinson (free agent).

Baseball Quote of the Day

One of the new features I’m starting up during the offseason is a baseball-related quote of the day. These will include quotes by players or managers that are insightful or funny, and interesting quotes from others about the game itself. I’ll try to mix it up over time.

Today I’ll go with two quotes from one of today’s Birthday Boys… Bill Buckner:

“Baseball’s what I do.”

“Baseball is a game of averages, but over a short period of time, to have a little luck going is not a bad thing.”

⚾ I hope you enjoyed the newsletter today! ⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

Here are the five players who had 200+ HR for the Astros:

  • 449 - Jeff Bagwell

  • 326 - Lance Berkman

  • 291 - Craig Biggio

  • 255 - Jose Altuve

  • 223 - Jim Wynn

Here are the four players who had 250+ SB for the Astros:

  • 487 - César Cedeño

  • 414 - Craig Biggio

  • 325 - Jose Altuve

  • 288 - José Cruz

Good Reads

Here I am providing one or more links to baseball articles I’ve enjoyed recently, whether by writers at MLB.com or elsewhere.

See recent issues of The Baseball Buffet for more recent good reads!

Did you know? I wrote a 600+ page book with the same title as this newsletter/blog? Now Taking the Field: Baseball’s All-Time Dream Teams for All 30 Franchises was published in early 2019, by ACTA Sports. It is available at Amazon and most other major booksellers.

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