Terriers and Junior National Team alum Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) threw four scoreless and hitless innings for the Miami Marlins in his final spring start on Friday. Photo: Miami Marlins

March 23, 2025

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Some Canadian baseball news and notes from the past week:

Marlins replace Guardians as Canada’s team

It looks like the Miami Marlins will have three Canadians – catcher Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.), right-hander Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) and infielder Otto Lopez (Montreal, Que.) – on their Opening Day roster when they take on the Pittsburgh Pirates at loanDepot Park on Thursday. That will be the most of any major league team.

Last September, the Cleveland Guardians had four Canadians on their roster. But on December 21, they dealt slugger Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) to the Arizona Diamondbacks and left-hander Erik Sabrowski (Edmonton, Alta.) will begin the season on the injured list with left elbow inflammation. That leaves the Guardians with catcher Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) and reliever Cade Smith (Abbotsford, B.C.).

The Toronto Blue Jays’ Opening Day roster will only have one player born in Canada — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.). Reliever Zach Pop (Brampton, Ont.) will start the season on the 15-day injured list after he was shut down with elbow discomfort on Thursday.

Hicks makes Marlins’ Opening Day roster

Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.) was told he would be making the Marlins’ Opening Day roster on Friday. You can watch him receive the news in this video shared by the Marlins:

Hicks will begin the season as the Marlins’ backup catcher. The Marlins selected Hicks in the Rule 5 draft from the Detroit Tigers in December, which meant he had to be on their Opening Day roster or be offered back to the Tigers.

Hicks has impressed both offensively (.417 on-base percentage in 13 games) and defensively this spring for the Marlins. He caught Marlins’ ace Sandy Alcantara‘s first two starts of the spring.

A Toronto Mets alum, Hicks was chosen in the ninth round of the 2021 MLB draft by the Texas Rangers. He has since played parts of four minor league seasons. He split 2024 between double-A in the Rangers’ and Tigers’ organizations and batted .264 with a .379 on-base percentage (OBP) with six home runs in 113 games.

Lopez has strong spring for Marlins

Otto Lopez, who spent part of his childhood in Montreal and has played for the Canadian national team, will be the Marlins’ starting second baseman on Opening Day. He has gone 15-for-47 (.319 batting average) with two home runs and seven RBIs in 18 games this spring. He also leads the Marlins with 10 runs.

The 26-year-old infielder played his first full major league season with the Marlins last season. On February 13, 2024, the Blue Jays sold his contract to the San Francisco Giants. He spent spring training with the Giants before he was designated for assignment and claimed on waivers by the Marlins.

In 117 contests with the Marlins in 2024, he hit .270 with six home runs and 39 RBIs.

Quantrill rounding nicely into form

On Friday, Cal Quantrill started for the Marlins and tossed four scoreless innings and did not allow a hit against the Washington Nationals and fellow Canadian Michael Soroka (Calgary, Alta.). Quantrill struck out five and didn’t walk a batter. That moved Quantrill’s Grapefruit League record to 3-0 and lowered his ERA to 5.91.

The Ontario Terriers and Junior National Team grad got a late start this spring when he didn’t sign with the Marlins until February 12. But he has shown improvement in each Grapefruit League start. In his last two, he has permitted just one hit in seven scoreless innings. His success makes him a strong candidate to start the Marlins’ second game of the regular season. Alcantara has already been named the Marlins’ Opening Day starter.

Quantrill, who turned 30 on February 10, went 8-11 with a 4.98 ERA in 29 starts for the Colorado Rockies last season and was non-tendered following the campaign.

In all, he is 43-34 with a 4.07 ERA in 161 appearances (123 starts) in six big league seasons with the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Guardians and Rockies.

Junior National Team alum Michael Soroka (Calgary, Alta.) will start for the Washington Nationals against the Toronto Blue Jays on March 31. Photo: Washington Nationals

Soroka struggles again

Facing Quantrill on Friday, Soroka struggled, allowing six runs on five hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings in the Nationals’ 6-0 loss to the Marlins. Soroka’s spring ERA rose to 7.47 with the loss.

Soroka’s pitching line, however, was somewhat deceiving. He cruised through four scoreless innings before things imploded for him in the fifth.

“It was clicking really, really well for four innings. And then guys get on, and I want to kind of try to be the hero, and again just do too much,” Soroka told MASN after the game. “I just lose track of it for a second, then you fight back, and hits fall and things happen. You’ve got to get out of those innings and not let it snowball like that.”

Soroka also permitted six runs in four innings in his previous spring start against the Tampa Bay Rays on March 16.

“I think he feels like he can get a little more out of what he’s doing. But sometimes less is more,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez told MASN after Friday’s game. “He’s very fluid in everything, and then you saw as things started unraveling, it was more (trying to throw harder) instead of just letting it happen. At the end of the day, he was trying to overcompensate, overthrow more than anything.”

On a positive note, Soroka felt strong after the game and is healthy heading into the regular season. The Nationals have him lined up to start their fourth game against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Monday.

Soroka signed a one-year, $9-million contract with the Nationals on December 19.

The Junior National Team alum was dealt to the Chicago White Sox by the Atlanta Braves in November 2023. After a rough beginning to the 2024 season as a starter, he was moved to the White Sox bullpen where he rediscovered his form. In 16 relief appearances, he posted a 2.75 ERA and struck out 60 batters in 36 innings.

In total, in parts of five major league seasons, the 27-year-old Soroka owns a 17-18 record and a 3.67 ERA in 69 appearances (52 starts).

Pop sidelined with elbow discomfort

As noted earlier, Blue Jays reliever Zach Pop (Brampton, Ont.) was shut down from throwing for seven-to-10 days with elbow discomfort on Thursday.

The 28-year-old Pop, who registered a 5.40 ERA in seven relief appearances this spring, will begin the regular season on the 15-day injured list. The Canuck righty, who is out of minor league options, signed a one-year, $900,000 contract with the Blue Jays in January to avoid arbitration.

Last season was a rough one for Pop. Although he made a career-high 58 relief appearances for the Blue Jays, the Junior National Team grad recorded a 5.59 ERA and struck out 33 batters in 48 1/3 innings.

Toro still fighting for roster spot with Red Sox

Abraham Toro (Longueuil, Que.) is making a strong bid to win a job as a backup infielder with the Boston Red Sox. After signing a minor league deal with the club in late January, Toro has gone 13-for-40 (.325 batting average) with a .372 OBP in 20 games this spring. He has two home runs and 10 RBIs.

He should find out if he will head north with the Red Sox today.

In 2024, Toro batted .240 with six home runs and 26 RBIs in 94 games with the Oakland A’s.

In total, Toro has played in parts of six major league seasons with the Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners and A’s. In 365 big league games, he owns a .220 batting average with 34 home runs and has 134 RBIs.

Zastryzny reassigned to minor league camp by Yankees

Left-hander Rob Zastryzny (Edmonton, Alta.) was reassigned to New York Yankees’ minor league camp this morning.

Signed to a minor league contract by the Yankees on February 17, the southpaw reliever allowed four runs on eight hits in seven innings in seven Grapefruit League appearances this spring.

After spending 2024 in the Brewers’ organization, Zastryzny, 32, was claimed on waivers by the Chicago Cubs on November 4. Just four months later, however, the Cubs designated him for assignment.

The veteran southpaw began last season with the triple-A Nashville Sounds before being recalled by the Brewers to start on Canada Day. Overall, in nine appearances (three starts) for the Brewers, he posted a 1.17 ERA and had five strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings.

Zastryzny was a second-round pick of the Cubs in 2013. He recorded a 4.41 ERA in 18 relief appearances with the Cubs from 2016 to 2018 and earned a World Series ring in 2016.

Leblanc sent to minors by Braves

Despite batting .313 and recording an .853 OPS in nine games for the Braves this spring, Charles Leblanc (Laval, Que.) was reassigned to minor league camp on March 13.

Leblanc signed a minor league contract with the Braves on November 13. The 28-year-old had elected to become a free agent after the Los Angeles Angels outrighted him off their 40-man roster on October 24.

In 2024, Leblanc saw his first big league action since 2022 when he belted two home runs, had seven walks, six runs and posted an .869 OPS in 11 games for the Angels. He spent the bulk of the campaign in triple-A, where he batted .254 with 12 home runs and a .379 OBP in 98 games.

Leblanc made his major league debut with the Marlins on July 30, 2022. In 48 big league contests with the Marlins that year, he hit .263 with four home runs, 10 doubles and 12 walks.

Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team alum Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) is batting .395 for the Arizona Diamondbacks this spring. Photo: Arizona Diamondbacks

Naylor continues torrid spring

Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) will finish as the leader among Canadians in hits this spring. Heading into Sunday’s Cactus League contest, he has 17 hits in 43 at bats, which is good for a .395 batting average. Among those hits are five doubles and a home run.

Those are the best numbers he has had during spring training (minimum 30 at bats) and he is leading D-Backs regulars in batting average and is second in hits and OPS (1.062).

This bodes well for the D-Backs who acquired him from the Guardians on December 21 for right-hander Slade Cecconi and a Competitive Balance Round B draft pick.

In 2024, Naylor registered career-highs in home runs (31) and RBIs (108) in 152 games for the Guardians and was selected to the MLB All-Star Game for the first time.

The 2024 campaign was the Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team grad’s fifth with the Guardians and his sixth overall. He made his big-league debut with the Padres in 2019.

Happy Birthday to Jamie Richmond!

Happy 39th Birthday to National Team alum and former Atlanta Braves pitching prospect Jamie Richmond! The Toronto native was selected in the 31st round of the MLB draft by the Braves in 2004 out of Texarkana College. He pitched parts of three seasons in the Braves’ organization. In 2006, he went 7-1 with a 1.21 ERA in 14 games (12 starts) for the Rookie ball Danville Braves. He finished off his affiliated pro career with the class-A Kane County Cougars in the Oakland A’s organization in 2008. He later pitched in the independent ranks for the Quebec Capitales in 2012, as well as for the national team on multiple occasions.