2025 trade package #18: Cards on Cards

It's almost Thanksgiving and I've finally made it to my August cards! First up is a fun package from Kerry of Cards on Cards, whose Oregon Ducks are still solidly in the playoff chase while my Wolverines have some heavy lifting to do.

Kerry sent me a typically excellent mix of baseball, basketball, and football, so let's dig in to the pile:

Panini's Mosaic brand has kind of gotten stale in my eyes but Select offers some cool parallels like the Orange Flash Prizm--a Tigers color match if there ever was one--that serves as my first card of Tigers IF prospect and 2023 second-rounder Max Anderson. While he's potentially part of the team's future, a Miggy Absolute Green parallel of his retail version is a nice reminder of the past. Back to the present, Kerry treated me to a card of his namesake Carpenter, the slugging OF for Detroit.

A '25 Topps Blue Holofoil (numbered /150) leads off the next trio, and that puts me just a few away from 150 cards of the former Wolverine. Even logoless, the Select Gwynn looks great with a cool shot of Mr. Padre about to add another hit to his total. Likely 2026 3B Colt Keith finishes off the group with a ready-for-Christmas Donruss Red/Green Laser parallel from this year.

Another former Wolverine leads this group as Larkin offers a Green Prizm that comes with hints of red, not to mention more of that hue thanks to the name of his team. Someone managed to find an image of Leyland not smoking for his Donruss Optic appearance. And Meadows, who may get shopped this offseason as Detroit looks to improve in center, joins Carpenter from Heritage, though in this case his is a holofoil card.

While Mize can't quite claim the "Titan" status that Skubal and his pair of Cys has earned, he's looked quite good in the rotation. The Donruss Red/Blue of Rainer is just my second of Detroit's first-round SS from '24 who ranks among the top 100 prospects in the game. And Tork was certainly a gem this past season compared to his previous struggles.

Verlander needs zero introduction here and is among the Finest in my collection for sure. The auto of left-side IF prospect Rucker out of '25 Donruss was a very nice surprise, and I look forward to seeing if the '23 fourth-rounder can move up in '26. And Gwynn closes out the baseball stuff in style thanks to an '85 Donruss jumbo card that gives a nice look at an old San Diego uni.

As a Portland fan, Kerry knows basketball well, so I'm never surprised when he includes some new basketball stuff for my collections. I like the mix of players, designs, and color here. You can see Poole on both versions of '24-'25 Totally Certified--one plain, one foil--and I'm not entirely clear which is the "base" going off of TCDb images, but I'll figure it out at some point. Also, my Franz Wagner collection (plus a Mo!) got another nice boost thanks to this envelope. I'm now over 60 items of the younger German Wolverine bro.

And that's partially also thanks to this bunch of Panini stickers! Bufkin, Poole, and the Wagners were seen above while 2025-26 Pistons teammates LeVert and Robinson fill out the group. The foil of Franz is my favorite because it takes me back to my childhood days of ripping Panini sticker packs (usually baseball) and hoping for the foils and holos.

And we'll end on a high note with football. I believe Colson's out for the year but love the look of his Prestige Xtra Points parallel. Corum picked up his first NFL TD against the Titans in week 2 and I hope he gets more chances. Browns first-rounder Graham's been a bit quiet this season but I think given time he'll be creating chaos on the DL in the NFL just like he did in college.

Speaking of excellent defenders, the trio of Hutch/Paye/Gary has been a very good one for their respective teams! They've combined for 18.0 sacks this season with lots more sure to come. As for the next guy, the question isn't Will Johnson be great, but Will Johnson stay healthy? If so, he could be a draft steal (second round) for the Cardinals after a decorated career in Ann Arbor.

Those accolades included winning the '23 national championship with the next two guys. McCarthy's still showing some rust after being injured all of last season but if he can get right and limit his mistakes, he could be the next great Michigan QB in the NFL. And Sainristil's college play was as shiny as his Mosaic parallel above, a game that I think will translate well to his job with Washington.

Last up is easily my favorite card in the package because it's a new (and relatively recent!) autograph of former blog namesake guy Mario Cashmere Manningham! You all know Super Mario was one of my favorite college receivers and I was excited to see him win a Super Bowl ring even if he had to catch passes from gumpy fivehead guy Eli Manning. Despite his short career he continues to pop up in products more than a decade after his final season, and that includes last year's Panini Mosaic offering. This marks hit #101 and card #33 with a signature on it. Hell yeah!

Kerry, thanks so much for this outstanding envelope! It remains a pleasure to trade with someone who has similar preferences in sports (especially when it comes to colleges) but different teams. I also received your recent box(!) you sent me and will happily show that off when I catch up. Until then, I'm looking forward to hitting you back right around Christmas. Also, good luck to your Ducks, and may they take down the Trojans this weekend!

I'll be back with more trades soon and will be enjoying my own college football Saturday tomorrow as Michigan takes on Maryland. GO BLUE!