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DALLAS — The Toronto Blue Jays agreed to a deal with the Cleveland Guardians for All-Star second baseman Andres Gimenez, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Infielder Spencer Horwitz, 27, is heading to Cleveland in the deal, a source told ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. The other elements of the trade were not immediately known.

The deal comes as Toronto is trying to retool its roster after a disastrous 2024 season and in the aftermath of its unsuccessful attempt to sign superstar Juan Soto.

Gimenez, 26, is in the midst of a seven-year, $106.5 million deal that runs through the 2029 season, with a club option for 2030. Gimenez has won three Gold Gloves and is widely regarded as one of the sport’s best middle infielders. He stole 30 bases for the Guardians last season but batted .252 with a slugging percentage of .340, and was moved down into the lower half of the Cleveland lineup.

In an era in which executives highly value offensive production, other teams had started to view Gimenez as perhaps overpriced for the small-market Guardians, with rival executives speculating earlier in this offseason that he might be on the move.

The Blue Jays went 74-88 last season and are facing a franchise crossroad ahead, which is why they took a shot — a longshot, it appeared from the outset — at signing Soto. First baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the team’s best hitter, will be eligible for free agency next fall, and to date, the Blue Jays have not been able to work out a contract extension. Associates of Guerrero say that as the player weighs his options, he’s not sure about the direction of the franchise.

Shortstop Bo Bichette is also eligible for free agency after next season.

The Blue Jays appear to be foregoing a significant rebuild and, according to agents and rival executives, have indicated they will do everything they can to rebound in the very competitive AL East in 2025. The Jays made a significant offer to Soto before being outbid by the Mets, and they have had talks with other free agents and teams about possible deals. They were among the teams involved in the bidding for pitcher Max Fried before Fried, according to sources, agreed to an eight-year, $218 million deal with the Yankees.

Last summer, the Guardians selected second baseman Tony Bazanna with the first overall pick in the draft, and while he could be an infield candidate down the road for Cleveland, he has not played beyond the High A for the Guardians. Juan Brito, 23, posted an .808 OPS in Class AAA last season and could get a shot to step into Gimenez’s spot.

Horwitz batted .265 with a 125 OPS+ in his first full MLB season in 2024. He’s arbitration eligible in 2027 and won’t hit free agency until 2030.

Cleveland, always facing payroll management, is also weighing possible trade options with first baseman Josh Naylor and outfielder Lane Thomas.

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Jets sign captain Lowry to 5-year, $25M extension

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Jets sign captain Lowry to 5-year, M extension

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The Winnipeg Jets signed captain Adam Lowry to a five-year, $25 million contract extension Wednesday. The deal starts next season.

The 32-year-old Lowry has played his entire 12-year NHL career with Winnipeg, serving as captain since 2023-24.

St. Louis native Lowry has a goal and two assists in seven games this season. The 6-foot-5 center has 122 goals and 154 assists in career 782 games.

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Bruins’ McAvoy, hit in mouth by puck, has surgery

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Bruins' McAvoy, hit in mouth by puck, has surgery

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy had surgery Wednesday to repair facial injuries and will be sidelined indefinitely.

McAvoy was hit in the mouth by Noah Dobson‘s slap shot Saturday in the second period of Boston’s 3-2 victory in Montreal.

“He’s doing good,” Bruins coach Marco Sturm said before Boston’s game against Anaheim. “He’s recovering right now at home. We still don’t know how long he’s going to be out for.”

McAvoy has 14 assists in 19 games this season.

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Panthers say Luostarinen out after BBQ ‘mishap’

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Panthers say Luostarinen out after BBQ 'mishap'

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers are now dealing with even more injuries, including one sustained in a grilling accident.

And coach Paul Maurice, when looking at the big picture, is seeing all of this as a way for the champs to get even better.

Forward Eetu Luostarinen will be listed as week-to-week, Maurice said Wednesday, after what the coach described as “a barbecuing mishap.” But the already-shorthanded Panthers don’t seem to have a concrete timeline in mind for Luostarinen’s return.

“We don’t have a lot of experience with this,” Maurice said. “When he comes back and feels comfortable with the equipment on him, away we go.”

And forward Cole Schwindt, claimed off waivers last month to help with the Panthers’ injury problems, is now on the injury list himself. Schwindt will need surgery in the coming days to repair a broken arm, and the Panthers expect that he’ll miss two to three months.

Luostarinen and Schwindt become the latest entries on an injury log for the Panthers that already included long-term issues for captain Aleksander Barkov (preseason ACL tear), Dmitry Kulikov (upper body), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body), Tomas Nosek (knee) and Matthew Tkachuk (groin). Barkov, Kulikov, Gadjovich and Nosek all still have months to go in their recoveries; Tkachuk might start skating by the end of this month and could make his season debut sometime in December.

It is not at all what the Panthers expected to start the season. But that’s where Maurice sees opportunity; the roster depletions have forced Florida to change its playing style somewhat, and he thinks that could wind up providing valuable lessons.

“There’s an awful lot of good if you can capture, if you can learn some new things, things that you have to learn to survive,” Maurice said. “And that’s really in some ways what we’re doing, is trying to survive. When you get to seven guys out of your lineup, you’ve got a problem. We can survive that and then learn through the adversity of it eventually.

“We’re going to have, slightly after the trade deadline, the biggest movement in the league,” he added. “We’re going to get some players back. We can be a better team than we were going into the playoffs last year, if we can learn how to do this. It’s just going to be hard. It’s going to be uncomfortable right now. And we’ve got to be good with that.”

The Panthers expect that rookie forward Jack Devine, part of two NCAA title teams at Denver and twice a Hobey Baker Award finalist before turning pro last year, will make his NHL debut Thursday in a home game against New Jersey.

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