February 2, 2025

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Some Canadian baseball news and notes from the past week:

Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame to announce 2025 class on Thursday

The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame will unveil its class of 2025 on Thursday morning at 9 a.m. E.T. The induction ceremony will be held on the Hall grounds in St. Marys, Ont., on June 14. The ceremony is free to attend.

Also, it was eight years ago today that the Canadian ball hall announced its 2017 class which included former Toronto Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay, ex-Expos slugger Vladimir Guerrero, longtime Baseball Canada president Ray Carter, legendary B.C. umpire Doug Hudlin and the Canadian Senior National Team that captured gold at the 2015 Pan Am Games.

Pivetta still unsigned

With the start of spring training less than two weeks away, Nick Pivetta (Victoria, B.C.) remains unsigned. In an interview on the MLB Network on Wednesday, insider Jon Morosi said this is largely because of the draft pick a team will have to part with to sign the Canadian right-hander.

Pivetta declined the $21.05 million qualifying offer made to him by the Boston Red Sox on November 20. That means that the team that signs him will have to surrender a compensatory pick prior to the third round in this year’s draft to the Red Sox.

In the early off-season, the market for Pivetta seemed robust, with some experts predicting he could be in line for a three-year deal worth more than $60 million. That doesn’t seem likely now.

Pivetta went 6-12 with a 4.14 ERA in 27 games (26 starts) for the Red Sox in 2024. He struck out 172 batters in 145 2/3 innings. In total, the Junior National Team alum has pitched in eight major league seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies and the Red Sox. He owns a career 56-71 record and a 4.76 ERA in 223 games (178 starts).

Peters invited to Rays’ big league camp

Tristan Peters (Winkler, Man.) has received an invite to the Tampa Bay Rays’ big league camp. The invitation comes after he batted .238 with 12 home runs and eight stolen bases in 123 games for the triple-A Durham Bulls in 2024. Peters is also one of the top defensive outfielders in the Rays’ organization.

Last season was Peters’ second in the Rays’ system after being acquired from the San Francisco Giants following the 2022 season. The 24-year-old Okotoks Dawgs alum was selected in the seventh round of the 2021 MLB draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. He spent parts of two seasons in the Brewers’ organization prior to being traded to the Giants.

King invited to Marlins’ big league camp

Left-hander Justin King (Lloydminster, Alta.) has been invited to the Miami Marlins’ big league camp. Like Peters, King is also an Okotoks Dawgs alum. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound lefty was signed as an amateur free agent by the Brewers on June 5, 2022. He spent parts of three seasons with them before being released on Canada Day in 2024. Four days later, he signed with the Marlins and proceeded to post a 2.55 ERA and strike out 32 batters in 17 2/3 innings in 17 relief appearances for double-A Pensacola. This will be the 27-year-old southpaw’s first major league camp.

Scherzer has dominated at Rogers Centre

Yes, Max Scherzer, whom the Blue Jays have signed to a one-year, $15.5-million deal, is 40 years old. And yes, he only made nine starts last season for the Texas Rangers. But if the three-time Cy Young Award winner can replicate even a little bit of the magic he has spun at Rogers Centre as an opposing pitcher, it will be a successful signing for the Blue Jays. In six starts at Rogers Centre, Scherzer is 4-1 with a 1.86 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 38 2/3 innings. That’s his second-lowest ERA at any major league park that he has pitched at least five games in (He is 4-0 with a 0.27 ERA at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati).

Sabathia made one start in Montreal

I can remember 2025 National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee CC Sabathia starting against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre numerous times. He went 9-4 with a 3.01 ERA in 16 starts at the dome. But did he ever start against the Expos in Montreal? The answer is yes. On June 21, 2002, the 6-foot-6 lefty made his sole start at Olympic Stadium. He allowed just three runs on four hits in 7 1/3 innings to an Expos lineup that included Jose Vidro, Vladimir Guerrero, Wil Cordero, Andres Galarraga and Orlando Cabrera. He was outdueled, however, by right-hander Javier Vazquez in the Expos’ 3-1 win. Just 7,494 fans were on-hand to witness the contest.

After the game, Cleveland manager Charlie Manuel lauded the then 21-year-old Sabathia’s performance.

“He was super,” Manuel told the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Sabathia was also content with his performance.

“They have a good lineup, so I was pretty happy with the way I pitched,” Sabathia told The Akron Beacon Journal.

Cleveland had been scuffling to score runs and this game was no different.

“I have confidence in my teammates,” said Sabathia after the game. “It’s not like I’m out there thinking I have to give up no runs.”

10 years ago, Axford sign with the Rockies

It was 10 years ago today that John Axford (Port Dover, Ont.) signed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies. The deal included an invite to big league spring training. News reports at the time indicate that Axford was expected to challenge for the role of set-up man for closer LaTroy Hawkins. The 6-foot-5 right-hander pitched so well that he eventually supplanted Hawkins as the Rockies’ closer and ended up recording 25 saves that season. That was his only campaign in Denver. He signed with the Oakland A’s that December.

SkyDome became Rogers Centre 20 years ago

I still call it SkyDome, but it was 20 years ago today that SkyDome was officially renamed the Rogers Centre. This came a few months after Rogers has purchased the facility for $25 million. On the same day they renamed the stadium, Rogers announced they would be investing $10 million in new Daktronics video scoreboards and in a FieldTurf infill playing surface that resembled natural grass. A call was also placed to Kellie Watson who had won the Blue Jays’ name-the-stadium contest in 1987 when she suggested SkyDome. The winning prize for that contest was two lifetime season tickets to events at the dome. The Blue Jays called to reassure her that the deal would not be impacted by the name change.

38 years ago, Blue Jays, Braves complete trade

Thirty-eight years ago today, the Toronto Blue Jays traded second baseman Damaso Garcia and right-hander Luis Leal to the Atlanta Braves for right-hander Craig McMurtry. At first reflection, it seems like a lopsided deal in favor of the Braves. In actuality, however, none of the players involved in the deal ended up playing a single big-league game in 1987. McMurtry underwent an emergency appendectomy at the end of spring training and posted a 3.08 ERA in 21 minor league appearances (19 starts) between double-A and triple-A. Garcia suffered a knee injury and played just one game in triple-A for the Braves that year, while Leal was shipped back to the Blue Jays at the end of spring training and he eventually ended up pitching in the Mexican League.