The Baseball Buffet for 12/3/2025

LAA signs Alek Manoah to a one year deal. As reported by Rhett Bollinger at MLB, the team has announced the deal is for $1.95 million. Manoah will turn 28 in January, and as Bollinger notes, represents an “interesting reclamation project for the Angels under their new manager Kurt Suzuki and veteran pitching coach Mike Maddux.” Manoah pitched at four minor-league levels in 2025, but that didn’t add up to much with a 3.96 ERA in 10 starts and 38.2 IP as he was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. That came after 5 starts and 3.70 ERA with the Blue Jays in 2024, and 19 starts and an unattractive 5.87 ERA with Toronto in 2023. The Angels’ hope is that Manoah is healthy again and might return to at least some of his earlier success, as he came in third in the AL Cy Young vote in his second big league season in 2022 with a 2.24 ERA and 180 strikeouts in 196.2 IP.

This is the second starting pitcher move of the Halos’ offseason, having previously traded OF slugger Taylor Ward to the Orioles for Grayson Rodriguez. Earlier this fall they had announced that Reid Detmers, who had a successful season as a reliever in 2025, will be returning to their starting rotation in 2026. So after trading for Rodriguez they had four starters lined up in Jose Soriano, Yusei Kikuchi, Detmers and Rodriguez. Manoah offers upside to round out that rotation, but will be competing for the job with soon-to-be 22-year old Caden Dana, soon-to-be 25-year old Jack Kochanowicz, and others.

TOR signs Cody Ponce to a three year deal. Drafted in the second round by the Brewers in 2015, 31-year old Cody Ponce last pitched in the majors in 2021 with the Pirates… and it wasn’t pretty with a 7.04 ERA and 1.748 WHIP over 38.1 innings of mostly relief work. He went over to Japan and did better from 2022-2024 and then in 2025 he put up video-game like numbers in the Korean league: 17-1 record, 1.89 ERA, 0.935 WHIP, and 252 K in 180.2 IP.

The Blue Jays apparently liked what they saw, as they aren’t just giving Ponce a one-year trial deal, but rather a three-year contract for $30 million. Keegan Matheson writes that the KBO league is known for having a lot of contact hitters, so Ponce’s 252 strikeouts is actually an all-time record and led to him earning the league’s MVP Award. He accomplished this apparently by adding a few mph to his fastball and adding an effective splitter—a pitch that his new Blue Jays teammates Kevin Gausman and Dylan Cease also rely on.

The Jays rotation is now beyond looking solid and indeed a bit crowded, so I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if they deal someone for needs elsewhere. If they went big they could trade Gausman, as he will be a free agent after the 2026 season. Eric Lauer will also be a free agent, and regarding their five-man rotation he appears to be on the outside looking in for now. If Ponce makes the rotation along with Gausman, Dylan Cease, Shane Bieber, and Trey Yesavage, then that leaves José Berríos, who ended last season on the IL, in question as well. He has a player option after the 2026 season, so again could be a trade option.

HOU signs pitcher Ryan Weiss. Reporting by Brian McTaggart at MLB has sources saying the Astros are signing Ryan Weiss, who like Ponce pitched last year in the KBO. He turns 29 years old in a week, and had good numbers last year, though not as eye-popping as Ponce’s: 16-5 record, 2.87 ERA, 1.024 WHIP, and 207 K in 178.2 IP. He was drafted by the D-Backs in the fourth round in 2018, but had mixed success as he rose up through the minors, never making it to the majors.

Of these three signings from yesterday, Weiss seems least likely to secure a rotation spot. Houston will have Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier at the top of their rotation, and are presumably losing free agent Framber Valdez. I’d assume Spencer Arrighetti and Lance McCullers Jr., if healthy, are the leading candidates for the 3rd and 4th spots. But either of them could struggle in the spring, and there are several other candidates for the rotation, including Weiss, Jason Alexander, AJ Blubaugh, Nate Pearson, and others.

1933: Connie Mack has a sale. “Philadelphia Athletics owner Connie Mack sells catcher Mickey Cochrane to the Detroit Tigers for $100,000. Cochrane is named Detroit manager. Nine days later, Mack sells Lefty Grove, Max Bishop, and Rube Walberg to the Boston Red Sox for $125,000, and George Earnshaw goes to the Chicago White Sox for $20,000 and another player.”

1955: Yogi Berra wins his third AL MVP Award. “Yogi Berra (.272 BA, 27 HR, 108 RBI) is named AL MVP. It's his third time winning the award, after doing so in 1951 and 1954.”

1958: The Giants make a great trade in acquiring pitcher Jack Sanford. “In one of the worst trades in franchise history, the Philadelphia Phillies send P Jack Sanford to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for P Ruben Gómez and C Valmy Thomas. Sanford, who slipped in his sophomore year, will win 24 games for the Giants in 1962, including 16 in a row, while leading his team to the National League pennant.”

1963: The Braves acquire Felipe Alou. “The Milwaukee Braves acquire OF Felipe Alou, C Ed Bailey, P Billy Hoeft and IF Ernie Bowman from the San Francisco Giants for catcher Del Crandall and pitchers Bob Hendley and Bob Shaw. After an injury-shortened 1964 season, Alou will enjoy standout seasons in 1965 and 1966.”

1968: MLB changes some rules after the “Year of the Pitcher”. “The MLB Rules Committee adopts a series of changes designed to increase the amount of offensive run production in both leagues. In the most significant alterations, the committee agrees to decrease the size of the strike zone and lower the height of the pitcher's mound from 15 inches to 10 inches. The rules changes will result in increased run-scoring in 1969.”

1969: The Royals acquire a young Amos Otis. “The Kansas City Royals make arguably the best trade in franchise history. The Royals send third baseman Joe Foy to the New York Mets for outfielder Amos Otis and pitcher Bob Johnson. Otis, who batted only .151 in 48 games for the Mets, will spend 14 outstanding seasons with Kansas City and will finish his career with 193 home runs and 341 stolen bases, and will become a Royals Hall of Fame member.”

14-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1995-2009, and spread across seven different clubs

Began as a reliever for the Mets and Braves, but then spent most of his career as a starter

Won 15+ games three times, including in 1999 when he was an All-Star and had a 15-11 record for the Phillies

Overall had a 109-96 (.532) record, a 4.41 ERA, and a 103 ERA+

13-year major league career, spanning from 1988-2001, with the first half for the Brewers and the second half spread across seven other clubs

Had 15+ SB five times, including a career-high of 41 SB in 1992

High average hitter with a career .291 average and .360 OBP, but never hit 10 or more HR in a season

Was primarily a CF but also played some RF and LF

After retiring he worked as an analyst, commentator, and broadcaster for several media outlets

Died tragically as the result of an apparent murder-suicide by his ex-girlfriend (see Wikipedia)

15 - Nolan Ryan

13 - Randy Johnson

12 - Roger Clemens

10 - Tom Seaver

9 - Max Scherzer

9 - Justin Verlander

9 - Pedro Martínez

9 - Bob Gibson

These 10 teams have the prospects to swing a big trade at the Winter Meetings, by Joe Trezza, Jim Callis, and Jonathan Mayo at MLB, 12/2/2025

Here's how Yanks might improve roster as Winter Meetings near, by Bryan Hoch at MLB, 12/1/2025

MLB Network breaks ground on new facility set for '28 season, by Mark Feinsand at MLB, 12/2/2025

Félix Hernández and Cole Hamels Had Extremely Similar Careers, But Are They Hall of Famers?, by Dan Freedman at Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 12/2/2025

On the Contemporary Era Committee’s HOF Ballot, by Jeff Kallman at Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 12/3/2025