The Baseball Buffet for 2/26/2026

Scherzer, now 41-years old, is a future Hall of Famer having pitched 18 years in the majors, earning three Cy Young Awards and having been an All-Star eight times.

An intense competitor with a passion for the game, in 2025 Scherzer had a recurring thumb injury issue and struggled to a 5-5 record and 5.19 ERA over 17 starts. He had good stretches though, and also provided some important innings in the ALCS and World Series.

Outlook: The Blue Jays starting rotation is now officially crowded, so they’’ll have to work through how to manage that, or perhaps make a trade to lessen the bottleneck at some point. The front two are presumably Dylan Cease and Kevin Gausman, with rookie Trey Yesavage likely getting the opp for the third slot at least early on, given that veteran Shane Bieber will start the year on the IL. They also have returning veterans José Berríos and Eric Lauer, and Cody Ponce who the Jays are brought back from overseas with the intent of him being a starter.

So maybe they will go with a six-man rotation early on, perhaps using Cease and Gausman regularly as though on a five-man, and giving more breaks for rookie Yesavage, and veterans like Bieber and Scherzer. Injuries could eliminate their abundance “nice problem to have”, or a trade could also.

BAL SP Trevor Rogers, who was outstanding in 18 starts last year, did well with 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

TOR 2B Ernie Clement, who set a new postseason hits record last year, went 3-3 with a double, a triple, and 2 RBI

PIT SP Paul Skenes struck out 4 in 2.1 IP, though also allowed four walks and a run

NYM OF prospect Carson Benge led off and went 3-3, while 22-year old SP Jonah Tong struggled a bit with 2.2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. The runs he allowed came from a 3-run HR by STL 3B Nolan Gorman.

HOU SP Hunter Brown did well with 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

COL 1B prospect TJ Rumfield went 2-2 with two solo HR and a walk

CHC SP Jameson Taillon was roughed up (2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 HR), and CHC RP Caleb Thielbar really struggled (0.1 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HR), but between them CHC SP Cade Horton did well (2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K)

SEA OF Brennan Davis had himself a good day going 3-3 with a HR and 2 doubles

KCR SP Noah Cameron, who had a good rookie season last year and is their likely fifth starter this year, did well with 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

TEX SP Nathan Eovaldi was strong with 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

TEX OF prospect Aaron Zavala went 2-3 with 2 HR

CLE 3B José Ramírez went 1-2 with a walk and his second HR of the spring

CHW SP Jonathan Cannon pitched 3 hitless innings in relief (3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K)

CIN SP Nick Lodolo did well with 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

LAD SP Roki Sasaki struggled with 1.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (though I read he was working on some new pitches)

LAA SP prospect George Klassen did well with 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

SDP SP Michael King struck out 4 in 2.2 IP, though gave up a HR to LAA 2B Christian Moore

MIL 2B Brice Turang went 2-3 with 2 HR, including one grand slam

NYY SP Ryan Weathers did very well (3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K), and along with five relievers combined to 1-hit the Nationals

Astros and Diamondbacks

Giants and Royals

Pirates and Twins

Brewers and Rangers

Orioles and Padres

Tigers and Athletics

Blue Jays and Rays

1935: Babe Ruth is released by the Yankees. "The New York Yankees release longtime star outfielder Babe Ruth, freeing him to sign a $20,000 contract with the Boston Braves of the National League. Ruth's new contract with the Braves also gives him a share of the team's profits. In 1934, Ruth endured one of his worst seasons with the Yankees - at least by his lofty standards - with a .288 batting average, 22 home runs and 84 RBI. This season, he will play just only 28 games for the Braves before announcing his retirement on June 2nd at the age of 40."

1969: Yaz signs a big contract. "Boston Red Sox star Carl Yastrzemski becomes the highest-paid player in American League history after signing a one-year deal worth $130,000. In 1968, Yastrzemski batted a league-leading .301 and also paced the AL with 119 walks."

1991: Owner Bill Veeck and 2B Tony Lazzeri are elected to the Hall of Fame. “Bill Veeck, the colorful owner of the Browns, Indians and White Sox (twice), and Yankees great Tony Lazzeri are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.”

Hall of Famer

20-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1911-1930, with the Phillies, Cubs, and Cardinals

An elite pitcher of his era, he led the NL in wins six times with between 27-33 wins in each case

Also led the NL in ERA five times (all below 2.00), and strikeouts six times. Overall he won the NL Pitching Triple Crown four times.

Did well in both the 1915 World Series for the Phillies and the 1926 World Series for the Cardinals

Overall had a 373-208 (.642) record, a 2.56 ERA, and a 135 ERA+

Was nicknamed Pete, or Old Pete, which according to Wikipedia "... began as 'Alkali Pete', which was in itself a pastiche, based on a series of early silent film westerns based on characters named Alkali Ike and Mustang Pete. While on a hunting trip with Bill Killefer in Texas, Alexander's dusty appearance prompted Killefer to name him 'Alkali Pete' and it stuck. Before going to war, he was given a watch engraved with the nickname, dating its origin to no later than 1918. By the late 1920s, it had morphed into 'Old Pete.'"

12-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1938-1954, mostly with the Pirates and Dodgers

Led the NL with a modest 148 strikeouts in 1945 to go with a 2.87 ERA

Four-time All-Star for the Dodgers from 1949-1952, including in 1951 when he finished the season with a 22-3 record and 3.04 ERA

Overall had a 127-84 (.602) record, a 3.43 ERA, and a 116 ERA+

Born Elwin Charles Roe, according to Wikipedia "The nickname 'Preacher' came at the age of three when an uncle asked his name and Roe responded "preacher" because of a minister who would take him on horse-and-buggy rides."

First-round draft pick (10th overall) in 1980 by the Indians

10-year major league career, spanning from 1984-1993, mostly with the Blue Jays

Two-time All-Star

Was a good defensive 3B, winning a Gold Glove Award in 1990

Had career highs of 31 HR and 118 RBI in 1990

Had 10+ SB five times, with a high of 23 SB in 1988

Shoulder and neck injuries led to an early retirement after his age-31 season

Overall had 117 HR, 80 SB, a .259/.307/.432 slash line, and a 102 OPS+

16-year major league career, spanning from 1992-2008, mostly with the Angels and Giants

Won six consecutive Gold Glove Awards at 1B

Had some power, with 20+ HR three times and 100+ RBI twice

Overall had 189 HR, a .268/.357/.427 slash line, and a 105 OPS+

16-year major league career, spanning from 1998-2013, starting with the Braves for seven years and then spending time with seven other clubs

Was versatile defensively, playing a mix of 3B, SS, RF, LF, and 1B

Hit 20+ HR twice, including 21 HR in 2008 when he had career highs of 87 RBI and 103 runs

Overall had 100 HR and a .268/.340/.412 slash line

After retiring he has worked for MLB Network as a studio analyst, and managed the US national team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, leading them to a silver medal

2,579 - Chris Sale

2,251 - Gerrit Cole

2,075 - Yu Darvish

1,954 - Kevin Gausman

1,925 - Sonny Gray

Here is each team's best power-hitting prospect, by Sam Dykstra, Jim Callis, and Jonathan Mayo at MLB, 2/25/2026

There's loads of ABS data from last season. What does it all mean?, by Mike Petriello at MLB, 2/25/2026

Yankees to honor CC with jersey retirement, plaque ceremony on Sept. 26, by Bryan Hoch at MLB, 2/25/2026

Future Hall of Famers (40 Years Later), by Joe Posnanski at JoeBlogs, 2/25/2026

The importance of MLB clubhouse vibes, by Mark Kolier at Almost Cooperstown, 2/25/2026

An Overlooked Negro Leagues War Hero, by Chris Jensen at Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 2/25/2026