Ryan Noda is the other Player To Be Named Later in the Ross Stripling trade

The most drawn out trade in Blue Jays history has finally been completed.

Back at the end of August, the Blue Jays acquired Ross Stripling from the L.A. Dodgers in exchange for two Player(s) To Be Named Later.
One of them, as we found out shortly after, was pitcher Kendall Williams, the Blue Jays’ second-round pick from the 2019 draft. The other one, as we learned today, was Ryan Noda.

#BlueJays announce that OF Ryan Noda has been sent to the Dodgers as the second PTBNL in the Ross Ross Stripling deal.
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) February 24, 2021

Noda, a corner outfielder and first baseman was the 15th round pick of the Blue Jays from the 2017 draft. He isn’t currently ranked on Toronto’s Top-30 prospects list and went unclaimed in the last Rule 5 Draft.
In his first professional season, Noda slashed a .364/.507/.575 line in Rookie Ball in Bluefield and he then followed that up with an impressive .256/.421/.484 line in Low-A Lansing. Most recently, Noda put together a .238/.372/.418 line in High-A Dunedin and didn’t join the Blue Jays at their Alternate Training Site in Rochester in the summer of 2020.
As I said, Noda has never really been a big-time …

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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation

Raptors recap: Fred VanVleet leads surprise win over mighty Bucks

Raptors recap: Fred VanVleet leads surprise win over mighty Bucks

Fred VanVleet and Toronto Raptors had one of their most impressive games of the season against the Milwaukee Bucks with a 124-113 win on Tuesday night. Not only was it one of the best performances of the season, but it showed that the Raptors can play like the team of last year that had the […]
Raptors recap: Fred VanVleet leads surprise win over mighty Bucks – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Nickeem Khan / Raptors HQ

Montreal hands Toronto first regulation loss in 10 games with 2-1 victory over the Leafs

In a slow game, where the most flavour came during a second intermission segment spent discussing beef patties, the Toronto Maple Leafs fell to the Montreal Canadiens 2-1, suffering their first regulation loss in ten games.
It was another story of struggling in low-opportunity games for Toronto who showed weakness against that style of play during last season’s play-in round when they lost three of five games to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Both Toronto and Montreal seemed to take turns getting clogged up in the neutral zone and firing low-danger chances towards the other team’s goalkeeper. Making matters worse was the lack of powerplay time for either team with the referees calling only a single penalty for either franchise. With Toronto’s man-advantage unit being as lethal as it is, the referees putting their whistles away marked a noticeable dent into the Leafs gameplan.
The Leafs’ only goal came during the first period where Marner found the back of the net in close after a wonderful play from Auston Matthews behind the net to set up the goal.

Mitch Marner scores the first goal of his career against the Habs, 1-0! pic.twitter.com/NHLDgbI3fq
— Justin Holl’s …

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Author: Filipe Dimas / The Leafs Nation

Leafs adjust their taxi squad in advance of the Marlies season

It might not be the most exciting of season milestones, but it’s a necessary one, and that is the opening of the Canadian AHL division for play on Monday. And given that for the first little while games won’t be played in Ontario, it’s time for the players destined for the AHL to ship out and join the Marlies. That’s why today’s announcement wasn’t really a surprise…

Defenceman Martin Marincin and forward Scott Sabourin have been reassigned to the Maple Leafs taxi squad.
Forward Adam Brooks, forward Nick Robertson and defenceman Rasmus Sandin have been loaned to the @TorontoMarlies.
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) February 13, 2021

Let’s start with who is sent down, rather than focus on who is coming up.
Rasmus Sandin needs a change to play. He should be trying to play 20+ minutes a night rather than waiting 12 games for an opportunity for 10 minutes of ice time. That’s not ideal for a top prospect, and while there previously weren’t any alternatives to that, there is one now and sending Sandin to the Marlies is 100% the right move. It’s also likely that if the Leafs need someone to play significant ice time …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

Toronto Raptors: The other 50-point games in Raptors history

Toronto Raptors: The other 50-point games in Raptors history

The Raptors franchise has not had the most star-studded cast of alumni.  As of now, there are zero Raptors in the Basketball Hall of Fame (unless you count Hakeem Olajuwon, and you shouldn’t count Hakeem Olajuwon), and seven All-Stars. Yes, the team had some recent success, and they’re still a relatively young franchise in the […]
Toronto Raptors: The other 50-point games in Raptors history – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Avishai Sol / Raptors HQ

Raptors: Friday’s game being played amid COVID-19 uncertainty was a disgrace

Raptors: Friday’s game being played amid COVID-19 uncertainty was a disgrace

Most expected Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant to end up as one of the pivotal storylines from their primetime matchup against the Toronto Raptors, but the main takeaway from Toronto’s 123-117 win was the fact that the NBA has no idea what it is doing with regards to their COVID-19 protocols. It appeared as if […]
Raptors: Friday’s game being played amid COVID-19 uncertainty was a disgrace – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

Toronto Raptors: Brutal Fred VanVleet quote sums up how “dumb stuff” has hurt Raptors

Toronto Raptors: Brutal Fred VanVleet quote sums up how “dumb stuff” has hurt Raptors

The Toronto Raptors remain one of the most confusing teams in the NBA this season, if not the most puzzling. After starting the season off with playoff expectations, they slumped to a 2-8 beginning before winning five of their last six games. All of their positive momentum has now ebbed away, as the Raptors lost […]
Toronto Raptors: Brutal Fred VanVleet quote sums up how “dumb stuff” has hurt Raptors – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

Raptors: Trading Kyle Lowry has plenty of pros and cons

Raptors: Trading Kyle Lowry has plenty of pros and cons

Kyle Lowry has been one of the most influential players in Toronto Raptors franchise history, but he is starting to show that he is past his prime. The Raptors have a 7-10 record after the first portion of the season, which does put them in the race for a playoff spot, but should Toronto even […]
Raptors: Trading Kyle Lowry has plenty of pros and cons – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Ben Zelniker / Raptors HQ

Toronto Raptors: Was failing to re-sign Marc Gasol a mistake?

Toronto Raptors: Was failing to re-sign Marc Gasol a mistake?

The Toronto Raptors’ frontcourt situation is one of the most schizophrenic setups in the league. On one hand, Pascal Siakam continues to impress after a slow start, and Chris Boucher is becoming a legitimate Sixth Man of the Year candidate. On the other, Aron Baynes and Alex Len, both of whom were signed by Masai […]
Toronto Raptors: Was failing to re-sign Marc Gasol a mistake? – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

Leafs Prospect Roundup: Nick Robertson’s injury, Amirov settling in, Leafs long shots

Two of the Maple Leafs’ most exciting new faces in Nicholas Robertson and Mikko Lehtonen found themselves on the outside looking in when the puck dropped on opening night but both made their NHL regular season debuts this past week.
Unfortunately for the Leafs and Robertson, he played just 2:20 before suffering a knee injury that will keep him on the shelf for upwards of four weeks. It’s a tough break for a kid that has worked so hard to to crack this lineup as a 19 year old, staying in Toronto all through the summer and offseason while skipping the World Juniors to better prepare himself for his shot at the Leafs roster, but it sounds as though he may have been fortunate it wasn’t worse.

Sheldon Keefe says Nick Robertson (knee) likely out at least four weeks
They consider this good news after initial fears
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) January 18, 2021

The timing of Robertson’s injury only got worse when Joe Thornton left Wednesday’s game with what appeared to be a significant injury of his own, opening a spot in Toronto’s top nine forward group that the young rookie certainly would have been given a chance to …

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Author: Nick Richard / The Leafs Nation