It’s always intriguing when MLB stars wearing new uniforms face their former clubs for the first time. And the opening weekend of the 2026 regular season featured a few such reunions.
For example, Adolis García, a 2023 postseason hero for the Rangers, suited up for the Phillies against his old team for the clubs’ three-game series in Philadelphia — and even had a key hit in the Phils’ ninth-inning rally on Saturday.
Here’s when some other notable players will face their former clubs for the first time in 2026, as well as where those meetings will take place.
Gray and Contreras were traded to Boston in separate deals this offseason orchestrated by new Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, who spent the 2020-23 seasons as the Red Sox’s chief baseball officer. The Cardinals loaded up on pitching in return, acquiring righty Richard Fitts and lefty prospect Brandon Clarke in exchange for Gray and getting a trio of righties, including Hunter Dobbins, for Contreras. Neither veteran will have to wait long to make their returns to St. Louis, which will come just a few weeks into the season.
McNeil, who was traded to the A’s in December for Minor League right-hander Yordan Rodriguez, is the first of several longtime former Mets to make this list. A 12th-round Draft pick out of Long Beach State back in 2013, McNeil is back in his home state of California after spending his first eight Major League seasons in Queens. A two-time All-Star who won the 2022 National League batting title with a .326 average, McNeil will be back on familiar ground early in 2026 when the A’s visit New York.
Díaz’s iconic entrance now includes accompaniment by a live trumpet, one of the biggest reminders that things are different for the All-Star reliever in 2026. After putting up a 2.93 ERA in six stellar seasons for the Mets, Díaz signed a three-year, $69 million deal with the defending World Series champions this offseason. He won’t return to Citi Field until after the All-Star break, but he’ll be facing his old club in mid-April in L.A.
Lowe is already off to a hot start with his new club, slugging three home runs in the Pirates’ opening series against the Mets in New York. He showed off that premier power during his first eight Major League seasons with Tampa Bay, topping out at 39 dingers in 2021 and earning two All-Star selections before being involved in a three-team swap this offseason. Lowe won’t be making any stops in St. Petersburg in 2026, but he and the Pirates will face the Rays in Pittsburgh.
Donovan’s name was bandied about in trade conversations practically all offseason before the Mariners sealed the deal, acquiring him from St. Louis as part of a three-team trade in early February. The talented infielder won’t have to wait long before he’s back at Busch Stadium, with Seattle set to visit for an Interleague set in late April. Donovan already owns two homers through his first four games with the M’s.
Suarez was a fan favorite and a postseason hero for the Phillies, his home for his first eight seasons, but Philadelphia wasn’t able to retain the lefty starter in free agency. Instead, the Red Sox made one of several additions to their rotation by inking Suarez to a five-year, $130 million deal. Suarez’s return to Citizens Bank Park is currently set for 2027, but there’s a chance he could line up to pitch against his former club during the Phils’ mid-May trip to Boston.
While Castellanos’ tenure with the Phillies ended on a sour note in February, he had plenty of big moments in October, including some game-saving catches and back-to-back multihomer games. After being picked up by the Padres on a one-year deal, the outfielder is in line for six games against Philadelphia this season, all in an 11-day span. His reception during his first series at Citizens Bank Park in early June should be interesting to watch.
Valdez declined the one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer from the Astros, landing a three-year pact worth $115 million from the Tigers in free agency. Slotting in behind Tarik Skubal in Detroit’s impressive rotation, Valdez — who debuted in 2018 — could make his first start against the Astros this June in Houston. During his eight-year tenure with the club, he was stellar in the 2022 postseason as the Astros won the World Series and authored a no-hitter in 2023.
Arenado was one of the highest-profile trade acquisitions in Cardinals history, and the deal paid immediate dividends when the star third baseman finished third in NL MVP voting in his first season with the club. Now 34 with his offensive production declining over the past few seasons, Arenado — traded to the D-backs in January — is at the start of his 14th Major League campaign. He is scheduled for a four-game set in St. Louis in June, his first faceoff with his former team since the deal.
After losing out to the Dodgers on outfielder Kyle Tucker in free agency, the Mets struck quickly to land Bichette on a three-year, $126 million deal. Just 28 years old, the shortstop had a quite productive seven-year tenure with Toronto, making two All-Star teams and gathering down-ballot MVP votes in four different seasons. Game 7 of the 2025 World Series, featuring Bichette’s huge three-run homer off Shohei Ohtani, was his most recent game in Toronto — until the Mets visit Rogers Centre this summer.
Peralta was dealt to New York after his best season in a Brewers uniform, which featured a 17-6 record, a 2.70 ERA and a fifth-place finish in Cy Young balloting. The trade cost the Mets their No. 3 and No. 5 prospects (Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat) but landed them the talented 29-year-old Peralta, whose contract is up after the 2026 season. Peralta should be welcomed back to Milwaukee fondly when the Mets come to town in July for a three-game series.
Another major acquisition by the Mets will be returning to his former club’s home park this summer. Robert already made a splash in his opening series with New York, slugging a three-run, walk-off home run in the 11th inning against Pittsburgh on Saturday for his first Mets dinger. Long discussed as a possible trade candidate before officially being dealt in January, Robert — an All-Star, Gold Glover and Silver Slugger honoree with the White Sox — will face his old team at Rate Field in August.
It’s strange seeing Alonso in another uniform in 2026: The slugging first baseman quickly cemented himself as a Mets icon with a rookie-record 53 home runs in 2019. The Polar Bear topped 30 homers in every full season with New York and had a massive postseason dinger during the club’s 2024 run, too. It won’t be until near the end of the season, but Alonso is poised to suit up for the O’s at Citi Field, where he holds the ballpark’s home run record.
One-for-one trades involving established players of Nimmo’s and Semien’s caliber are rare, but that’s exactly what went down in late November between the Rangers and Mets. Now playing for his fifth franchise, Semien has bounced around a bit more than Nimmo, who spent all of his first 10 seasons with New York prior to the deal. Each veteran will get a chance to say hello to his former club when the Mets visit Texas in the second-to-last series of the regular season.