The Baseball Buffet for 3/1/2026

Marte has had a 14-year major league career, mostly with the Pirates early on and Mets most recently, with two seasons between spread between the Marlins, Athletics, and Diamondbacks. He has always provide some power (two seasons with 20+ HR), but usually more speed on the bases (nine seasons with 20+ SB, including 47 SB in both 2016 and 2021).

He has spent significant time at all three OF positions (winning two Gold Glove Awards), but in 2025 with the Mets he was mostly a DH and hit .270 with 9 HR and 7 SB in 98 games.

Outlook: Now 37 years old, Marte will presumably see action at both corner OF spots and at DH for the Royals in 2026. If not a starter, he will at least mix in with the existing OF group of Isaac Collins, Kyle Isbel, Lane Thomas, and Jac Caglianone, some of whom will also get ABs at DH along with their two catchers Salvador Perez and Carter Jensen.

PIT CF Oneil Cruz, who was 6-10 so far during Spring Training went 1-3 with a three-run HR, his first during camp. Two likely Pirates’ SP also saw action, with Braxton Ashcraft doing well (3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K), while Bubba Chandler (1.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K) let up a HR to HOU DH Isaac Paredes. Former Pirates’ pitcher Mike Burrows, who they traded to the Astros this offseason, did well with 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K).

DET top prospect Kevin McGonigle played as the DH and went 2-2 with a double and a walk.

MIN SP Taj Bradley struck out 4 in 2 IP, but also allowed 6 H, 1 BB, and 5 ER.

BOS OF Jarren Duran went 2-2 with a walk, 2 HR, and 4 RBI, but BOS SP Sonny Gray struggled with 1.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, including a HR allowed to MIN OF James Outman

ATL SP Spencer Strider made his debut with 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K. In the 8th inning, while three Braves (John Gil, Cal Conley, Chadwick Tromp) hit HR on three consecutive pitches by BAL Chayce McDermott.

BAL SP Kyle Bradish struck out 5 over 3 IP, but also allowed 4 H and 2 ER

In the TOR vs. NYY contest both SP threw four scoreless innings with TOR José Berríos having 4 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K and NYY Paul Blackburn with 4 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

PHI 1B Bryce Harper went 1-2 with a walk and his first HR of Spring Training, and PHI SP Christopher Sánchez did well with 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

TOR SP Dylan Cease made his debut for the Blue Jays and had 3 K in 1.2 IP, with 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, including a HR allowed to Bryan De la Cruz

Both starters did well in the WSH vs. NYM contest, with WSH Jake Irvin having 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K and NYM Tobias Myers with 3 IP, 2 H 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

STL prospect 2B JJ Wetherholt went 2-2 with a walk and 3 RBI

Three SP who are potential Cubs’ rotation depth options all did well: Colin Rea (3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER , 0 BB, 2 K), Ben Brown (2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER , 0 BB, 3 K), and Javier Assad (3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K)

SFG C Eric Haase went 2-3 with a grand slam

TEX SP Jack Leiter struggled with 1.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, allowing a HR to LAD C Dalton Rushing

LAA SP Alek Manoah, who is competing for a rotation spot, allowed four hits but otherwise did well with 3 IP, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

COL 1B Charlie Condon went 1-3 with his third HR of the spring, but SP Michael Lorenzen really struggled with 2 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 0 K

KCR OF Lane Thomas went 2-4 with a triple and 5 RBI, and Nick Loftin went 1-2 with a walk and a grand slam

After KCR SP Seth Lugo gave up 6 H and 2 ER in 3 IP, SP Cole Ragans made his spring debut with 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

CIN Hunter Greene said he felt well in his spring debut but didn’t put up good numbers with 1 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

1909: The Pirates begin construction of what will become Forbes Field. “The Pittsburgh Pirates begin construction of their new stadium near Schenley Park near the Oakland section of Pittsburgh. The state-of-the-art stadium will be named Forbes Field in honor of John Forbes, a pre-Revolutionary British general.”

1919: Connie Mack makes a bad trade. “Philadelphia Athletics owner Connie Mack makes one of his biggest player mistakes, trading third baseman Larry Gardner, outfielder Charlie Jamieson, and pitcher Elmer Myers to the Cleveland Indians for OF Braggo Roth. Veteran writer Ernest Lanigan predicts that Roth will lead the circuit in home runs at Shibe Park, but Roth will be shipped to the Boston Red Sox by midseason. Gardner will put in six more .300 years, and Jamieson will be a top leadoff man and .303 hitter for the next 14 years.”

1954: Ted Williams fractures his collarbone. “Boston Red Sox star Ted Williams fractures his collarbone on the first day of spring training. The injury occurs as Williams dives for a ball hit by teammate Hoot Evers. As a result, the injury will force Williams to miss Opening Day and will keep him out of Boston lineup until May 15th.”

1969: Mickey Mantle announces his retirement. “New York Yankees legend Mickey Mantle announces his retirement. Mantle, who slumped to a .237 batting average in 1968, finishes his 18-season career with 536 home runs and a .298 average, numbers that would have certainly been higher if not for persistent knee injuries. The Yankees offer Mantle a coaching position on manager Ralph Houk's staff.”

20-year major league career, spanning from 1872-1891, with eight years for Providence in the NL, and the rest spread across nine other clubs

Mostly played CF, with some time spent at LF, 1B, and 2B

Led his league in batting twice with a .358 average in 1878 and a .357 average in 1879

Also led his league in doubles three times, hits once, and RBI once

We lack SB data for much of his career, but he had 20+ SB four times from 1886-1889, including a high of 46 SB in 1887

Overall had 1,217 runs, a .302/.340/.409 slash line, and a 132 OPS+

10-year major league career, spanning from 1981-1990, playing 2B with the Pirates and Angels

Came in second in the NL Rookie of the Year Award voting in 1982 after hitting .281 with 79 runs and 16 SB

Led the NL with 38 doubles in both 1983 and 1984

Overall had a .290/.333/.391 slash line and a 101 OPS+

13-year major league pitching career, spanning from 2009-2021, spending time with nine different clubs

Was an All-Star for the Athletics in his second season in 2010, finishing the year with an 18-8 record and a 2.97 ERA

Overall had a 86-99 record, a 4.26 ERA, and an even 100 ERA+

8-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1942-1951, mostly with the Cubs

Had a 16-15 record and 3.15 ERA in 1944, then had his best season in 1945 with a 22-10 record and 2.68, followed by a 14-12 record and again a 2.68 ERA in 1946

Wyse was far less effective in 1947, and spent the rest of his career up and down between different clubs in the majors and minors

He was nicknamed "Hooks" because of his strong curveball

Overall had a 79-70 record, a 3.52 ERA, and a 105 ERA+

3-team race? Surprise team could make it 4 in NL East, by Mike Petriello at MLB, 2/28/2026

The most interesting players on the new ABS challenge leaderboard, by David Adler at MLB, 2/26/2026