Blue Jays non-tender Travis Shaw and A.J. Cole; Kyle Schwarber, Archie Bradley, and David Dahl among other notable names who got cut

The deadline for teams to non-tender arbitration-eligible players was on Wednesday, so we have a whole bunch of new names on the free-agent market.

The Blue Jays non-tendered two players, Travis Shaw and A.J. Cole. That leaves Teoscar Hernandez and Ross Stripling as the only arbitration-eligible Blue Jays.
Shaw getting cut was really no surprise at all. He was brought in on a one-year deal to be a veteran stop-gap at third. The hope was that Shaw could rebound from a putrid season at the plate and become the hitter he was in 2017 and 2018. That didn’t happen. Shaw slashed a .239/.306/.411 line with OK defence. This is a position the Blue Jays are surely looking to upgrade this off-season.
A.J. Cole seems a bit more surprising on the surface but it really isn’t. Cole was solid for the Blue Jays in 2020. He tossed 23 1/3 innings for the team and had a nice 3.09 ERA, though his peripheral numbers (3.5 walks per nine and 7.7 strikeouts per nine) weren’t good. There will be plenty of better relievers who fall through the cracks this winter so there’s no sense in committing to Cole at this stage.
The Blue Jays now have 38 …

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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation

Nick Abruzzese is the Leafs 10th ranked prospect

The Toronto Maple Leafs like to acquire players that attend Harvard. First, they drafted Nick Abruzzese in the fourth round in 2019 then later added Alexander Kerfoot from the Colorado Avalanche — both attended the prestigious school.
The 21-year-old dominated in the USHL last year where he had 80 points in 62 games. He followed it up by playing even better at school, where he won the Ivy League’s and ECAC’s Rookie of the Year awards in 2020.
Rank – Grade – NHL Readiness
10TH – B – 2-4 YEARS
Position: Centre
Age: 21
Height: 5’9
Weight: 160 lbs
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2019 4th round, 124th overall
What kind of player is he?
The NHL has progressed throughout the years bringing in players who are more skilled and not as big compared to 5-10 years ago. Abruzzese is on the smaller side but if you watch him play, his mind is what brings him to be an excellent player.
He makes everything look easy — whether it’s scoring, making a pass or being wide open for a scoring chance. Abruzzese knows where to be at the right time and if he gets to the NHL, that will be one of the many reasons why.
Looking back at his stats compared to …

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Author: Nick Barden / The Leafs Nation

Toronto Raptors: 3 players that’ll have an underrated upcoming season

Toronto Raptors: 3 players that’ll have an underrated upcoming season

The Toronto Raptors have multiple players on their team who are either all-stars already or have all-star potential. However, they also have some under the radar players who might impress us more than we think. The Toronto Raptors have players on their team that are legit all-stars and or on the verge of becoming all-stars […]
Toronto Raptors: 3 players that’ll have an underrated upcoming season – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Joseph Zita / Raptors HQ

The Rays are looking for catchers and the Blue Jays have a lot of them

On Friday, the Blue Jays added five players to the 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 draft, two of which were catchers, Gabe Moreno and Riley Adams.

With Danny Jansen, Reese McGuire, and Alejandro Kirk already there, that gives the team five catchers on the 40-man roster, which is more than you’d generally like to have.
Elsewhere, according to Jim Bowden, the Tampa Bay Rays have apparently told other teams that their off-season priority is to add “catching, catching, and catching.”
The Rays, as we know, are loaded with all kinds of quality pitchers. The Blue Jays, as we know, need to add some pitchers this off-season.

I’m not really a math person, but this all adds up! It could make all kinds of sense for the Blue Jays to send a catcher over to Tampa Bay in exchange for a pitcher, solving the problem of the massive catching logjam on the 40-man while simultaneously filling another area of need.
Of course, if the Rays want to make a big upgrade behind the plate, they could go ahead and sign J.T. Realmuto, arguably the top free agent on the open market. But, thankfully, the Rays are cheap …

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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation

Blue Jays add Gabriel Moreno, Riley Adams, Josh Palacios, Otto Lopez, and Ty Tice to 40-man roster

Friday was the deadline for teams to add players to their 40-man rosters ahead of the Rule 5 Draft in early-December.

The Blue Jays had 35 players on their 40-man roster, and they used all five open spots to add prospects in order to protect them from being exposed in the Rule 5 Draft…

#BlueJays add five players to their 40-man:• Riley Adams, C• Gabriel Moreno, C• Josh Palacios, OF• Otto Lopez, IF• Ty Tice, RHP
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) November 20, 2020

I wrote yesterday that Gabriel Moreno was an automatic because he’s one of the organization’s most highly-regarded prospects and Riley Adams also seemed like a very likely add because he’s near MLB-ready. But I also figured that the Blue Jays would only add three players, opting to leave a couple of 40-man roster spots open for free agents.
Instead, they added outfielder Josh Palacios, who was on the team’s 40-man playoff pool this year, young infielder Otto Lopez, who could have ended up in a similar situation to that of Elvis Luciano we had a couple of years ago, and Ty Tice, a reliever who has put up very good numbers in the upper minors.
My logic for the …

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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation

Toronto Raptors: 3 Raptors That Could Have a Breakout Year Next Season

Toronto Raptors: 3 Raptors That Could Have a Breakout Year Next Season

The Toronto Raptors have a handful of young players that have plenty of potential and just waiting to break out during their careers. The Toronto Raptors have a great core of players that involve some veterans, some young players, and some rookies as well. They are the 2019 NBA champions and after a tough 2020 […]
Toronto Raptors: 3 Raptors That Could Have a Breakout Year Next Season – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Joseph Zita / Raptors HQ

Leafs sending SDA to the KHL

The Leafs continue to loan out their AHL/AHL-bound players to any European team that can accommodate them. Semyon Der-Arguchintsev (SDA) is being sent to Torpedo of the KHL.

The @MapleLeafs have loaned forward Semyon Der-Arguchintsev to Torpedo (KHL) #LeafsForever
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) October 26, 2020

First off, Torpedo is a bad ass team name, and their jerseys are equally fire. They might end up selling a lot of merchandise to impulsive Leafs fans. Secondly, Der-Arguchintsev getting a chance to play at a high level after spending past four seasons in the OHL is a great opportunity for him.

SEASON
TEAM
LEAGUE
GP
G
A
TP
PIM

2016-17
 Peterborough Petes
OHL
63
8
21
29
2

2017-18
 Peterborough Petes
OHL
68
12
39
51
18

2018-19
 Peterborough Petes
OHL
62
6
40
46
20

 Newfoundland Growlers
ECHL
3
1
1
2
0

2019-20
 Peterborough Petes
OHL
55
12
63
75
23

SDA had a nice rebound last year after a setback in his post draft year, we’ll see how he progresses in pro hockey.
Given that it is a loan agreement, we’ll likely see SDA given the opportunity to return and earn his spot on the Marlies, but given that Der-Arguchintsev hasn’t played since March, this is a great opportunity for him to have his best shot at earning a key role on the …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

MLBTR projects salaries for the Blue Jays’ three arbitration-eligible players

The Blue Jays have three players eligible for arbitration this year.

Teoscar Hernandez, coming off of a breakout performance, will be arb-eligible for the first time in his career, Ross Stripling, who the team acquired mid-season from Los Angeles, will be arb-eligible for the second time in his career, and veteran Travis Shaw is set for one more round of arbitration before his Major League control years are finished.
This year’s arbitration awards are obviously much more difficult to difficult tp project as the 2020 season was only 60 games long due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, MLB Trade Rumours has come up with three different methods of making projections…
This winter, those involved in the process do not know how arbitration will account for the 60-game season, nor is there an agreement in place between MLB and the MLBPA on how to address it.  Many cases may end up getting resolved in a hearing room.  To reflect that uncertainty, we’re providing three projections for each player:

Method 1: Applies model directly with actual statistics from this 60-game season.
Method 2: Extrapolates all counting stats to would-be 162-game totals. One home run becomes 2.7 home runs.
Method 3: For non-first-time eligibles, finds …

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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation

Maple Leafs select Roni Hirvonen with the 59th overall pick

With plenty of talented players on the draft board heading into Day 2, the Leafs opted to move down and take advantage of the depth by trading the 44th overall pick to the Senators for the 59th and 64th picks overall. While the pick cost the Leafs a shot at players like Jan Mysak, Jeremy Poirer, the Leafs made the decision to go with quality and quantity by adding the extra high 3rd round pick and then using the later 2nd rounder on…
Roni Hirvonen
So what do you want to know about Hirvonen?
Well, he’s a Finnish center. He’s playing in Liiga right now. A lot of people are going to focus on the 5’9 aspect of Hirvonen, and certainly size might force him onto the wing if he comes to North America.
From Elite Prospects:
Hirvonen is dutiful in the defensive zone, maintaining an elevated work rate and putting on a clinic in body-leverage going into puck retrievals. He does a fantastic job of anticipating plays, closing passing & shooting lanes, and making defensive switches on the cycle. He moves the puck with pace and regularly finds teammates with high-danger passes.
In his two games this season, Hirvonen …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

Toronto Raptors: The 3 most disappointing Draft Picks of all-time

Do you know what’s scary? Looking at the list of players your team could’ve drafted and realizing the actual player drafted was a complete bust. The Toronto Raptors do have a few of those… With the Toronto Raptors officially in the offseason, and the spooky month of October getting closer. There is no better time […]
Toronto Raptors: The 3 most disappointing Draft Picks of all-time – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Alexandro Fidanza / Raptors HQ