3 Backup point guards the Raptors should sign in free agency

3 Backup point guards the Raptors should sign in free agency

The 2022-23 Toronto Raptors was a roster constructed to be tall, lengthy, and disruptive on the defensive end. As a result, the only surviving true guard was Fred VanVleet. The 6-1 point guard played 36.7 minutes per game, sixth in the NBA, with no other point guard to back him up. In the short time […]
3 Backup point guards the Raptors should sign in free agency – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Nolan Fluke / Raptors HQ

3 Toronto Raptors players who hurt their trade value in 2023

3 Toronto Raptors players who hurt their trade value in 2023

The Toronto Raptors’ roster is going to look much different at the end of the offseason, as Masai Ujiri is likely well aware of how poorly the team performed down the stretch. The bench needs multiple players that can come in and make an impact, and more shooting is needed everywhere. The Raptors are right […]
3 Toronto Raptors players who hurt their trade value in 2023 – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

The Blue Jays have reassigned Ricky Tiedemann and 11 other players, Addison Barger remains at big league camp

The Blue Jays have made some roster moves.

On Monday evening, the Blue Jays reassigned 12 players to the minor leagues, which you can see in the embedded tweet below.

The #BlueJays announce they’ve assigned these 12 players to Minor League camp.
They can still be brought back over for MLB spring games, so you’ll still see a few of them. pic.twitter.com/g4EPd8Mn1Z
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) March 13, 2023

The name that immediately jumps out is Ricky Tiedemann. The consensus Blue Jays; top prospect probably wasn’t in competition for a spot, but the exposure to big-league hitters could help his development. It’s also worth noting that the 20-year-old will be shut down for a few days, as he has shoulder soreness in his pitching arm.
The other six non-roster invitees reassigned to the minors are: OF Cam Eden, C Jamie Ritchie, LHP Jimmy Robbins, RHP Sem Robberse, RHP Hayden Juenger, and LHP Jimmy Burnette. The latter pitched in 3.1 innings, striking out five batters and allowing a single earned run.

Here’s Jimmy Burnette (@Burnette_Jimmy) strikeout and whiff thread.
A bunch of nice sliders here for his four whiffs.#BlueJays pic.twitter.com/SY3QO0jJmX
— Brennan Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) March 11, 2023

The Blue Jays also optioned five 40-man roster players: INF Orelvis Martinez (two homers), INF Leonardo Jimenez (3 hit-by-pitch), INF/OF Spencer Horwitz (playing for Team Israel), RHP Hagen Danner (shut down for a few days with forearm pain), and RHP Yosver Zulueta. The former struck out the side in his appearance on Monday afternoon.

82.9 mph slider for his second strikeout of the game! pic.twitter.com/8Cg016ht9C
— Brennan Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) March 13, 2023

While these players aren’t officially at the big league camp anymore, there will still be plenty of opportunities to play in spring training games. For example, the Jays will have a split-squad day on Friday, with both games against the Phillies.
It’s also worth noting that Blue Jays Nation’s second-ranked prospect, Addison Barger, survived the first wave of cuts. Could he be in cont …

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Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation

NBA rumors: Raptors missed golden opportunity to sign waived first-round pick

NBA rumors: Raptors missed golden opportunity to sign waived first-round pick

The Toronto Raptors have a full roster at the moment, as the signing of former Spurs wing and Iowa star Joe Wieskamp has officially fixed the roster at 15 players with the postseason coming up. However, an aggressive team would at least consider cutting one cheap bench player to make way for a high-ceiling addition. […]
NBA rumors: Raptors missed golden opportunity to sign waived first-round pick – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

Why Chris Boucher could be Raptors’ most tradable asset in 2023

Why Chris Boucher could be Raptors’ most tradable asset in 2023

The Toronto Raptors need to give their roster quite the system shock in the next few weeks, as they have to pivot away from their “Vision 6-9” identity and set themselves up for success in the modern NBA. Such a move could lead to Chris Boucher getting tossed to the wayside. Boucher started the season […]
Why Chris Boucher could be Raptors’ most tradable asset in 2023 – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

SDA on the way, Knies heating up, Voit finding twine: Leafs Prospect Roundup

SDA on the way, Knies heating up, Voit finding twine: Leafs Prospect Roundup

The Leafs have failed to supplement their roster with cheap, homegrown talent in recent years after some mostly fruitless drafts during the Lou Lamoriello era, but we may be starting to see the beginnings of the Leafs’ next youth movement. Building through the draft is paramount for any organization looking to sustain success, and the Leafs are hoping this next wave of young players will eventually aid them in doing just that.
Kyle Dubas’ first draft at the helm of the Leafs was in 2018, when they landed Rasmus Sandin with the 29th pick after trading down from the 25th spot. Sandin took the fast track to the NHL and appears to be growing into a player capable of handling top-four minutes, but he isn’t the only player from that draft class who has factored in for the Leafs so far in 2022-23.
Mac Hollowell, who recently earned his first call to the NHL and has registered a pair of assists through six games, was chosen in the fourth round as an overaged prospect. Filip Král was drafted in the fifth round and got his first taste of NHL …

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Author: Nick Richard / The Leafs Nation

Blue Jays add Spencer Horwitz, Addison Barger, Yosver Zulueta, and Orelvis Martinez to the 40-man roster

The Blue Jays’ roster has officially been set ahead of the Rule 5 draft.

To no one’s surprise, right-handed pitcher Yosver Zulueta, third baseman/shortstop Orelvis Martinez,  first baseman Spencer Horwitz, and third baseman/shortstop Addison Barger have been added to the 40-man roster.
Update: To make room for Zulueta, Horwitz, Martinez, and Barger, Foster Griffin was released, while Bradley Zimmer and Raimel Tapia were designated for assignment.
Let’s look at the prospects added to the 40-man roster.
Yosver Zulueta:
The 24-year-old Zulueta had a combined 3.72 ERA in 55.2 innings pitched in all four “A” levels of the minors in 2022. He had a fantastic 33.9 K% but struggled with the walks as he had a 12.9 BB%, which increased with each level he pitched at. This is to be expected, as he’s missed the last two seasons due to injuries and the plague year.

Zulueta just fanned his first runner throwing…
100 mph!!!!!!#BlueJays #NextLevel pic.twitter.com/RjpNT5v6Jl
— Brennan Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) July 7, 2022

Aside from the high strikeout rate and solid results, Zulueta was added to the 40-man roster due to the tools and potential he has. The Cuban has an 80-grade fastball which often reaches 100 mph, a plus slider, and a plus changeup, as well as an average curveball.
It’s possible, potentially even likely, that we will see Zulueta on the Blue Jays in 2023.
Addison Barger:
No Jays system position player had a year like Addison Barger. The 23-year-old slashed .308/.378/.555 with 26 homers in 526 plate appearances in High A, Double A, and Triple A. 
Although he likely ran out of gas in the Arizona Fall League (slashed just .189/.318/.321 in 63 plate appearances), Barger has taken a tremendous step forward in his development. The biggest change was the approach at the plate, which saw his K% drop from 32.9% in 2021 to 24.9% in 2022 across the three levels.

Addison Barger (@AddisonBarger) with his ninth homer of the season with the Fisher Cats!#BlueJays #NextLevel pic.twitter.com/D4BFPLk7er
— Brennan Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) September 15, 2022

Prior to the Arizona Fall Lea …

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Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation

The case for each Raptors non-guaranteed player to make roster

The case for each Raptors non-guaranteed player to make roster

The Toronto Raptors have 13 guaranteed contracts on the roster, leaving two vacancies players on non-guaranteed deals to secure a spot. Dalano Banton and Justin Champagnie, two rookies from last year’s team, will compete with DJ Wilson and Josh Jackson for the final spot. Throughout the preseason, Champagnie has been hampered with an injury, giving […]
The case for each Raptors non-guaranteed player to make roster – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

3 areas where the Raptors are vastly improved in 2022-23

3 areas where the Raptors are vastly improved in 2022-23

The Toronto Raptors remade their roster once again following a flurry of offseason moves made in quick succession. From re-signing both Thad Young and Chris Boucher to drafting Christian Koloko in the second round, this new-look Raptors team is in a better position than they were last year. Toronto may have won 48 games in […]
3 areas where the Raptors are vastly improved in 2022-23 – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

Best of what’s left: pooper scooping free agency for the Leafs

The Leafs’ cap situation and near-complete roster probably support the notion that there isn’t any reason to worry about who is left in free agency or not. Still, as we saw yesterday, trades are going to happen around the league and as a result, there is a possibility of cap space or holes in the roster. That’s why we’ll put in some work regarding who is left even if the Leafs free up space by moving all three of Holl, Muzzin, and Kerfoot, that probably isn’t enough to take a run at Nazem Kadri. So I’ll reluctantly exclude him from the list, and focus on the players that seem like they could fit the Leafs’ cap situation, and address some kind of need for Toronto.
As a refresher, here’s the Leafs cap situation (think depth chart, not line combos. I assure you I’m not suggesting line combinations in the below table, otherwise at the very least Joey Anderson would be there.)

Gross, right? No money, can’t even sign a league minimum player let alone the two RFAs. Let’s clean that up a bit more to give you all some peace of mind as to why we’re talking about free agents still.

There. That seems a little bit better. There is still a minimum of $2.25M that needs to be committed to those fourth line roster spots, but with three standard players contracts still available it at least gives the illusion that anything is possible and the Leafs can still add or at the very least the Sandin and Engvall signings start looking feasible. So if we’re talking about the 50 SPC limit, and two of the remaining contracts are spoken for wit …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation