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Monday, 31 March 2025
Blue Jays’ Wagner clears hurdle, makes strides at third base
TORONTO — Will Wagner‘s brilliant defensive play in the second inning of Friday night’s game at Rogers Centre was more than just a highlight-reel snippet. It represented a demarcation point for Wagner’s progress at his new position.
“That looked the part of a third baseman,” said Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider on Saturday morning.
One night earlier, Wagner, playing in his first MLB game at third base, slid to his right to nab a 104.9 m.p.h. rocket off the bat of Baltimore Orioles slugger Tyler O’Neill. He quickly got up, set his feet and fired a strong throw to first to record the out.
Several components went into the play, and Wagner worked diligently during winter and in spring training to be able to execute it.
Firstly, Wagner had to react quickly to the hot shot, recognizing that he’d need to shift to his right and get his body down to the dirt to pick it up. He required an understanding of his footwork to put himself in a strong position to deliver the ball to first. Finally, Wagner needed enough arm strength to beat O’Neill to the bag.
“Definitely getting there,” Wagner said on Friday night.
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The 26-year-old played second base for the Blue Jays after he was acquired in the July trade that sent Yusei Kikuchi to the Houston Astros. However, due to the acquisition of second baseman Andres Gimenez, Wagner knew that the club intended to deploy him at third in 2025, so he focused on improving his arm strength during the off-season while also rehabbing his left knee after undergoing a minor arthroscopic procedure in September.
“My strength coach actually threw with me every day,” said Wagner, adding that he incorporated plenty of long toss and plyo ball work into his routine. “My arm wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t where I wanted it to be.”
Once spring training began, Wagner was able to work closely with Blue Jays infield instructor Carlos Febles on the other elements of third base, such as reads and footwork.
Febles says he felt early in camp that Wagner was capable of playing a strong third base, and what he’s seen since has only bolstered that perception.
“I’ve been impressed with the way he’s been working and his preparation,” Febles said. “Everything he does [in practice] is game speed. He does it with a purpose.”
Wagner’s biggest challenge has been learning the hops at third and adjusting his pre-pitch setup. He could take a more upright stance while playing second, but at the hot corner, Wagner needs to get lower so he can be quicker with his reactionary first steps.
“He’s learning to be aggressive with his feet,” said Febles, who’s also the Blue Jays’ third base coach. “You got to be aggressive so you get more carry on your throws, whereas at second base you can take your time.”
Wagner logged 628.2 innings at third base over four minor-league seasons, but the seven innings he played during Friday’s game marked his entry to the position at the big-league level. The left-handed hitter was replaced in that game by pinch-hitter Ernie Clement, who drove in two runs with a double off Orioles lefty Cionel Perez in the bottom of the seventh.
Both Wagner and the defensively gifted Clement will see time at third in what looks like a solid platoon for the Blue Jays. Wagner’s strongest tool has always been his bat, so he’ll also get into the lineup as the designated hitter as he did during Thursday’s season opener and again in Saturday’s game.
In that area, Wagner is much more polished. He produced a .788 OPS over 24 games with the Blue Jays last year and has four hits — including one double — in nine at-bats across the three games this week.
The belief within the organization was always that if he continued to hit, Wagner would somehow find his way into more playing time. However, if he can add strong defence to his game, the path becomes much easier.
“I think he can be real good,” says Febles. “It’s not going to come overnight, but I think if he works the same way he’s been working and stays healthy, there’s no doubt in my mind he can be an above-average third baseman.”
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20 Fantasy Thoughts: Michkov’s stock rising after Tortorella’s departure
As good of a coach as he is, John Tortorella has a shelf life.
He has the ability to get the most out of his players but there will be some hard lessons along the way. Tortorella doesn’t care who you are or at what point of the season it is, he isn’t afraid to send a strong message by benching or scratching a player. No one is off limits.
That made him a curious fit for this iteration of the Philadelphia Flyers, a team trying to navigate its way through a rebuild and become a contender once again. Tortorella wasn’t shy about benching some of the Flyers’ young and talented players, even at a time when Philadelphia is no longer in playoff contention. Those lessons would have perhaps been better served on the ice, with players learning from their own mistakes and getting valuable experience in the process, instead of being stapled to the bench. Tortorella’s tactics may have worked better 15 or 20 years ago, but today, benching future stars of the organization is no longer commonplace.
The veteran coach also made things very challenging when it came to fantasy hockey. It’s tough to roster one of Tortorella’s skaters when you don’t know if that player is going to be up in the press box or only getting a few minutes of ice time on any given night. In fantasy hockey, the best ability is availability.
We’ve seen many examples this year of Flyers that should be good fantasy assets but are tough to rely on. Matvei Michkov, for example, spent a number of games in the press box earlier this season, and Owen Tippett was demoted to the bottom six. More recently, in Tortorella’s final game as Flyers head coach, he gave Cam York just 3:50 of ice time for what was later revealed as a disciplinary issue, benching him for the final two and a half periods. All of those scenarios are less than ideal when it comes to fantasy hockey.
Michkov is a critical piece for the Flyers as well as in fantasy. He could one day be a franchise player, and if you have him on your squad you would much rather him be out there putting up points in a loss than sitting as a healthy scratch. Connor Bedard is going through similar challenges with the lack of talent around him, but at least he’s out there playing every night. Michkov also has the benefit of playing with someone like Travis Konecny, who can help him put up good numbers even in some hard times for the Flyers as a team.
You can see Michkov is playing with more confidence already, with four goals in two games since Tortorella was let go. Move Michkov up your draft boards for next season.
It remains to be seen who the Flyers decide to ultimately replace Tortorella with on a permanent basis, but it’s very likely they’re going to be a lot friendlier when it comes to fantasy. That should hopefully mean you’ll have to worry a lot less about Flyers players being benched or not receiving adequate ice time. A roster that was once risky to draft from is now open with more possibilities.
1. Eeli Tolvanen has been full value this season as a waiver wire pickup. The Seattle Kraken forward is on pace for around 25 goals and 250 hits, which makes him an incredibly important piece in a multi-cat league. You’d like to see him post a few more shots, but there simply aren’t many players who can provide that blend of offence and physicality.
2. Thatcher Demko made his return this week and looked impressive in two starts. The Vancouver Canucks goaltender has struggled with consistency this season, and the team has a tough schedule to close out the year, with games against Vegas, Dallas and Colorado still to come. Kevin Lankinen has also played well and the Canucks are banged up, so temper your expectations with Demko the rest of the way. But if he can keep this up, he’ll be an asset moving forward.
3. Kudos to Pius Suter for taking advantage of an opportunity this week with the Canucks ailing at centre. Suter is temporarily the team’s top pivot and had the great Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday schedule. He immediately delivered, posting seven points in three games so far this week. If the Canucks don’t get healthy down the middle, Suter could be a hold. He can fill a lot of categories for you.
4. So far so good for Andrei Kuzmenko with the Los Angeles Kings. Kuzmenko has been given a chance on the top line with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe, as well as on the first power-play unit. He’s rewarded the Kings with four points in five games. Even though Kuzmenko runs hot and cold, you may be able to catch lightning in a bottle for a few games during a fantasy playoff matchup. He had seven shots on Saturday night, too.
5. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins picked it up when both Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid were out of the lineup, posting nine points in a four-game stretch. It’s worth noting Nugent-Hopkins played over 23 minutes last weekend against the Seattle Kraken, the most he’s skated in a game since late January. There aren’t many players who will benefit without McDavid and Draisaitl, but Nugent-Hopkins might be one.
6. It appears the Washington Capitals are preparing Logan Thompson for playoff hockey. After rotating goalies essentially all year, Thompson has now received four of the past six starts. That’s not ideal if you’re rostering Charlie Lindgren, as it’s likely he only gets one start a week for the remainder of the fantasy playoffs.
7. Taylor Hall is starting to settle in with the Carolina Hurricanes, notching seven goals and 11 points in his past 10 games. Hall has taken advantage of some top power-play time thanks to an injury to Andrei Svechnikov. Now that Svechnikov is back, I’m not sure how sustainable this is, but ride the Hall wave while you can.
8. It’s been a tough stretch for Zach Werenski, but he’s slowly starting to come out of it with a few assists lately. The Columbus Blue Jackets defender is still getting huge minutes and putting up shots, but he hasn’t scored in 11 games. Columbus as a whole has started to fade, so the timing is really unfortunate given it’s the most important time on the fantasy calendar. It’s hard to complain about what Werenski has given you this season, though, as he’s been a tremendous value pick and was even mentioned in the Hart conversation at one point.
9. I’ve talked about watching for players on teams out of the playoff race who are taking advantage of opportunities late in the season, and Luke Evangelista would certainly qualify. Evangelista is getting a look on Nashville’s top line and has responded with six points in five games.
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10. This has been Jack Eichel’s best fantasy season to date by a mile. He has a chance to hit 100 points and has been healthy all year. That was always the one thing holding Eichel back in drafts, as he’s missed a ton of time due to injuries over the past handful of seasons. A healthy version of Eichel that’s a 90-point player with a boatload of shots and faceoff wins could easily be a top-15 pick moving forward.
11. See if William Karlsson is sitting on your waiver wire. He’s posted six points in six games since returning from injury and may have been forgotten about since he was out for so long. Vegas plays four times next week, and Karlsson could be a critical piece that swings a playoff matchup.
12. The Pittsburgh Penguins aren’t making the playoffs this season, but the top line isn’t going out quietly. Sidney Crosby has been excellent since the 4 Nations Face-Off, and Bryan Rust is benefitting, scoring four goals in four games to go along with 14 shots. Add in the fact that Rickard Rakell has had a great season, and Pittsburgh has a chance to return a strong first line, depending on what happens in the summer. Rust and Rakell would be two players to target in the middle rounds of your draft next fall.
13. The risk/reward of Tristan Jarry was in full effect this week. After putting together a nice six-game stretch recently when he was recalled from the AHL, Jarry has now been pulled in his past two starts, allowing eight goals on 19 shots. The Penguins netminder may have helped you get into the playoffs, but he now has perhaps all but eliminated you if you leaned on him this week.
14. What a season for John Tavares. He’s up to 35 goals now and is likely to finish with the second-highest goal total in his career at age 34. Let’s not forget that Tavares missed a handful of games due to injury, too. He’s been a great buy-low this year and as long as he re-signs in Toronto and gets that top power-play time, he should easily maintain similar value next season.
15. You can’t be too pleased if you’re keeping David Jiricek for the long term. Despite the Minnesota Wild’s plethora of injuries at different points during the season, Jiricek was still made a frequent scratch and has now been sent to the AHL, where he suffered a season-ending injury. The Wild gave up a lot to get the former sixth-overall pick, so I’m sure he’s still in their future plans, but it’s a shame he wasn’t provided with more of an opportunity this season.
16. Keep an eye on David Perron. He recently had goals in three straight games and has really flourished on the second line for the Ottawa Senators with Dylan Cozens and Drake Batherson. Perron is only six per cent rostered.
17. The Calgary Flames are 31st in goals for, but it isn’t for a lack of trying from Nazem Kadri. With seven goals in his past six games, Kadri is still filling the stat sheet and doing everything he can to keep the Flames in the playoff race. There aren’t many Calgary skaters who are worth rostering right now, but Kadri’s blend of offence as well as hits and faceoff wins make him a must-have.
18. Next week could be the championship for many of you and every game counts. Toronto, Philadelphia, New Jersey and the New York Rangers play twice and everyone else either has three or four games. Someone to look at is Frederick Gaudreau on the Wild. Gaudreau has three goals in five games, fills a lot of other categories, and Minnesota plays Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The tricky part is when Joel Eriksson Ek returns, Gaudreau could get bumped down the lineup, but right now he has some value. It’s also worth noting the Florida Panthers have a pair of back-to-backs, where Vitek Vanecek is likely to get two starts. Vanecek is hard to trust, but the Panthers are a good team, and he could pick up some wins. It’s tough to find a goalie on waivers right now who you can count on for two starts in a week. New Jersey and Philly have the worst schedules in my opinion, with only two games and then four days off in between. I’d look to drop players on the edge of your roster after Monday when both teams play their first game of the week. Players like Dawson Mercer and Owen Tippett could become roster casualties based on the schedule.
19. Amazingly, Karel Vejmelka has now made 16 straight starts for the Utah HC. It’s extremely rare for a goalie to play that much these days, and while that’s great volume, Vejmelka’s numbers have predictably slipped with a couple of really tough outings this week. Even though he’s playing virtually every night, I’d only start him if the matchup is very friendly at this point.
20. It was very weird seeing Brad Marchand in a Florida Panthers jersey Friday night. He picked up an assist on the game-winning goal in overtime in his debut, but I’m very curious to see where he signs this summer. He’s still a 60-plus point player in the right spot and for fantasy hockey purposes, here’s hoping he goes to a strong offensive team.
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What it’s like to talk pitching with Blue Jays’ Max Scherzer
TORONTO — Max Scherzer likes pitching. That should be obvious, given that he’s still going at 40 years old after winning three Cy Young Awards, celebrating two World Series and banking hundreds of millions in career earnings.
He also likes talking pitching — something his new Toronto Blue Jays rotation mates were quick to pick up on during spring training. Still, no one but Chris Bassitt had ever played with Scherzer before, which meant the conversations began a little tentatively with the rest of the group.
“Eighty per cent listening probably,” said Bowden Francis, the youngest and least experienced member of the Blue Jays’ rotation at 28 years old. “Staying out of his way.”
But spring training is long, and the Blue Jays’ entire rotation had lockers beside one another at the team’s player development complex, so conversations with Scherzer gradually gained a little momentum. Soon enough, they realized how much he likes talking pitching, and listening to others do the same.
“This game can drive you crazy,” Scherzer said at one point this spring. “There are times where you want to just take a baseball bat and just beat things, and I’ve been there, but I’ve just learned over the years, I’ve beaten enough stuff to death that I’ve realized that’s not always the best way to think about it. Sometimes, it’s the other guys on the bench watching you pitch seeing a pattern for three games that just caught you now. So sometimes it’s not about getting mad, it’s about listening.”
In Bassitt, Francis, Kevin Gausman and Jose Berrios, Scherzer has four rotation mates who want to listen to him. To be fair, they’d probably want to listen to any three-time Cy Young winner, including a retired pitcher like Pedro Martinez or Greg Maddux. But augmenting Scherzer’s credibility further, he’s still pitching at a high level against the game’s best hitters. There’s a lot to learn here.
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As Scherzer prepares for his first start as a member of the Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon, those discussions are about to ramp up even further, and his teammates are looking forward to the insights they can gain as the season unfolds.
“It’s an interesting way of going about things, but he has a method to all of his madness, and he’s a very smart guy,” Gausman said in Dunedin Fla., one day this spring. “Way smarter than I think I thought, which sounds bad to say, but he’s very complex in everything that he’s doing and very focused on everything that goes with his craft.”
Gausman can tell the details matter to Scherzer. There’s no coasting here.
“That’s the main thing is he looks at it as a craft,” Gausman continued. “He’s one of the best that’s ever been, especially in my generation, so I’m looking forward to watching his bulldog mentality on start days. That’s more impressive to me than anything is that he still pitches like a rookie does with his mentality — kind of like he hasn’t done anything, but obviously, he’s done a lot in the game, so it’s really cool to watch.”
In the course of spring training, there were moments of levity for Scherzer, who admitted he couldn’t take Trea Turner seriously when his former Nationals teammate challenged the first pitch of an early spring game. No one maintains peak intensity for five weeks of Grapefruit League action, not even Mad Max. But as Berrios got to know Scherzer better, he could see how competitive his new teammate is.
“His attitude and his mindset is always about winning,” Berrios said. “He wants to compete and he wants to win.”
Pitching alongside Scherzer with the 2022 Mets, Bassitt got to know Scherzer pretty well. They talked a lot of pitching in New York, and Bassitt saw how those conversations helped others on the Mets’ staff. There’s a lot of knowledge Scherzer could share, of course, but this wasn’t a case of a veteran talking down to younger players.
“The best way to explain it is he’s going to ask pretty simple questions, but you got to have a good explanation as to why (you did something),” Bassitt said. “And luckily for us, we have Bowden, who’s somewhat young, but he’s still old enough to not have it overwhelm him. And then Gaus, Berrios and me, we’re old enough where we’re not a young staff, so I think it’s going to be really big for us just to keep us accountable every single day and have us think about instead of a lot more basic stuff, a lot more in-depth detail, stuff that I think will translate to success.”
Bassitt’s not exactly a peer of Scherzer’s — no active pitcher this side of Justin Verlander can claim that distinction — but at 36 years old with more than a decade in the major leagues, he’s about as close as it gets.
By way of contrast, there’s Francis, who has enjoyed hearing Scherzer share his thought process on preparation, mechanics and pitch selection.
“Incredible,” Francis said. “And I’ll throw some questions at him here and there just to see what he’s got on that (topic). That’s one of the best parts with him. I feel like no question is dumb to him, he’s just open to answering it.”
Clearly, Scherzer has an interested audience. And since everyone in the Blue Jays’ rotation has significant professional pitching experience, they can skip past some basics to more advanced topics.
“You’ve got to know who you’re talking to because not everyone’s going to grab onto every word you say,” Scherzer said. “So you’ve got to be careful sometimes. Sometimes, it’s only giving one little thing. It’s really just perspective — how you think about how to execute pitches, how you can be process-driven. What am I actually trying to do with the baseball? How do I think about different pitch shapes?”
If that sounds advanced, just wait. As the season progresses and the stakes of the games rise, Scherzer predicts the conversations will get more detailed.
“It’s great now, I’m sure guys are enjoying it now,” he said after one spring game. “But where the actual fun is where I’m critiquing myself. Like, hey, this is why I’m getting beat. This is why I got beat today. It’s those conversations that sink home the most.”
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Sunday, 30 March 2025
Wild’s Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek participate in practice
The Minnesota Wild got a welcomed sight on Sunday as forwards Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek participated in a full team practice.
It was the first time Kaprizov had been on the ice for a full team practice since January. Eriksson Ek had not participated since the team’s return from 4 Nations at the end of February.
As Michael Russo of The Athletic reported, both are expected to travel but won’t be playing on the team’s road trip.
Kaprizov, 27, had surgery for a lower-body injury back in January and resumed skating back on March 27. At the time, Kaprizov was the Wild’s leading scorer with 23 goals and 52 points in 37 games.
Eriksson Ek has missed the last 17 games with an undisclosed injury. The 28-year-old has 24 points in 42 games this season.
The Wild are tied with the St. Louis Blues for the first wild-card spot in the West with 87 points and have one game in hand. They are six points ahead of the Vancouver Canucks and seven points up on the Calgary Flames.
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Haaland comes off injured in Man City’s FA Cup match at Bournemouth
BOURNEMOUTH, England — Erling Haaland was substituted with a left ankle injury in the 60th minute of Manchester City’s FA Cup quarterfinal match against Bournemouth on Sunday.
The Norway striker hurt the ankle after Bournemouth right back Lewis Cook landed awkwardly on him in a 56th-minute tackle.
Haaland received treatment, came back on, but soon fell to the ground in pain and had to be substituted.
The score was 1-1, with Haaland having scored City’s equalizer after missing a penalty in the first half.
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Marlies sign Arizona State forward Ryan Kirwan to two-year deal
The Toronto Maple Leafs are doing their due diligence combing the NCAA ranks.
Toronto has signed Arizona State forward Ryan Kirwan to a two-year deal as they continue to make moves signing undrafted NCAA free agents.
The Marlies finalized the signing on Saturday night. He’ll join the American Hockey League squad for the remainder of the 2024-25 season on a professional tryout. His two-year contract will begin in the 2025-26 season.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman first reported that the Maple Leafs were nearing the deal earlier on Saturday night.
“It’s free-agent season and Toronto has signed a couple guys already who made their AHL debuts tonight,” Friedman said on the latest edition of Saturday Headlines on Hockey Night in Canada.“There’s another guy on Toronto’s radar, I’m hearing and we’ll see where it goes, his name is Ryan Kerwin.
“I heard they’re looking hard at him.”
Kerwin, 23, has had a productive first year playing with the Sun Devils, tallying 26 goals and 13 assists in 37 games.
The six-foot-two, 195-pound forward spent his previous three collegiate seasons playing for Penn. State in the Big Ten, picking up 34 goals and 35 assists over 100 career games.
The Maple Leafs have already added two NCAA free agents to their AHL ranks, bringing in former Dartmouth forward Luke Haymes and Union College defenceman John Prokop. Both debuted for the Marlies on Saturday night against the Belleville Senators.
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The Detroit Lions are signing veteran tight end Zach Ertz ahead of Sunday’s NFC Championship game against the San Francisco 49ers, accordin...
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