The 26-year-old has played 44 games this season, scoring three goals and seven points while averaging 9:47 of ice time. Prior to joining the Golden Knights, Reinhardt was a 2020 sixth-round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators.
With the Senators, Reinhardt played 18 games, scoring one goal and two points. In his AHL career, Reinhardt has scored 54 goals and 131 points in 270 games.
Reinhardt signed a two-year, $812,500 contract with the Golden Knights in the 2025 off-season. The 6-foot-1 winger has another season remaining on his contract beyond this season.
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On Friday morning, the Chicago Blackhawks completed a trade with the Minnesota Wild that sent captain Nick Foligno up north to play with his brother Marcus.
The return for Chicago is "future considerations", which may or may not become something someday. This is the Blackhawks doing right by their captain. He has given them everything they signed him to bring and more.
Replacing Jonathan Toews as a captain was never going to be an easy task for anyone. A former NHL captain and respected veteran like Foligno was the perfect man for the job, and he did it better than they could have expected.
Do the Blackhawks get a lower grade because they didn't get anything of significance in return for Foligno?
Trade Grade: A
The Blackhawks get an A for doing the right thing. Foligno is a fourth-line forward these days and doesn't provide much offense anymore. He is on an NHL roster to hit, create a forecheck, and stick up for his teammates. In the room, he provides tremendous leadership skills.
If the Blackhawks explored the entire market for Foligno, they would not get much for him, so sending him to play with his brother in what may be his final season for no return is a classy gesture.
The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. To view this game, it can be found on CHSN locally. Nationally, it is available to stream on ESPN+. The puck will drop shortly after 7:30 PM CT.
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Oct 11, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Chad Patrick (39) reacts in the seventh inning against the Chicago Cubs during game five of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
The Brewers return to Cactus League action Friday after an exciting 10–8 victory over the Colorado Rockies. Today’s game pits Milwaukee against the Arizona Diamondbacks for the first time this spring.
Chad Patrick is on the mound for the Brewers on the heels of Pat Murphy’s declaration that Patrick “will be in the rotation” to start the year. The right-hander showed up when called upon last year, putting up a 3.53 ERA in the regular season and a 2.00 ERA in six playoff games. Also scheduled to pitch today for the Crew are Jared Koenig and Peter Strzelecki. Pitching for the Diamondbacks is lefty Mitch Bratt, who had a 3.38 ERA in Double-A last year.
Today’s lineup is one you’ll probably never see in the regular season. Jake Bauers is leading off followed by Brandon Lockridge and Christian Yelich, who homered and reached base three times in his spring debut on Wednesday. A trio of offseason acquisitions — Akil Baddoo, Reese McGuire, and David Hamilton — will follow Yelich. Prospects Luis Lara and Jesús Made are hitting seventh and eighth, respectively. Hitting ninth and playing second base today is Greg Jones, who the Brewers signed to a minor league contract in the offseason.
Today’s game will be broadcast via radio on WTMJ 640 and the Brewers Radio Network. First pitch is set for 2:10 p.m.
The Detroit Red Wings have traded forward Elmer Söderblom to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick originally owned by the San Jose Sharks, the teams announced.
Detroit added veteran winger David Perron on Thursday night with the Soderblom move likely operating as a corresponding move to free up a spot in the lineup.
Söderblom, 24, is a towering 6-foot-8 winger from Gothenburg, Sweden who was originally selected by Detroit in the sixth round (159th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft. The Swedish forward has a pair of goals and an assist for three points in 38 games this season while primarily skating in a bottom-six role.
UPDATE: The #RedWings have acquired San Jose’s 2026 3rd round pick from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Elmer Soderblom. pic.twitter.com/XYzQe4K23P
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) March 6, 2026
Over his tenure in the Motor City, Soderblom appeared in 85 games with Detroit, recording 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points while providing size and a physical presence on the wing. Söderblom is currently signed to a very manageable two-year contract with a $1.125 million cap hit that runs through next season.
Söderblom first made his NHL impact during the 2022–23 season when he scored five goals and eight points in 21 games during his rookie campaign with Detroit.
The move gives Pittsburgh another large winger with developmental upside as the club continues to reshape its forward group. Meanwhile, Detroit adds future draft capital by acquiring the Sharks’ 2026 third-round selection.
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The Philadelphia Flyers have made a surprise roster move, claiming a new forward off waivers to address their vacant fourth-line center role.
On Friday, in advance of the 3 p.m. NHL trade deadline, the Flyers added veteran center Luke Glendening from the waiver wire, adding depth to a roster that just lost two forwards in Bobby Brink and Nick Deslauriers.
Glendening, 36, was cut by the New Jersey Devils on Thursday after appearing in 52 games for the Flyers' division rival, scoring four assists and winning 51.7% of his faceoffs.
The longtime Detroit Red Wings forward has never been much of an offensive contributor, scoring more than 20 points in a season just twice in his 13-year NHL career.
But, with Deslauriers out of the picture and incumbent fourth-line center Rodrigo Abols out for the year with a lower-body injury, the Flyers needed a cheap veteran to play a role for them for the remainder of the 2025-26 season.
If not Glendening, the Flyers' internal options would have included prospect Karsen Dorwart, undrafted forward Jacob Gaucher, and journeyman Lane Pederson.
Glendening will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season and is currently making the veteran minimum $775k against the salary cap.
In the absences of Deslauriers and Brink, tough guy Garrett Wilson and prospect Alex Bump are expected to make the leap to the NHL.
AUSTIN, TX - APRIL 25: Texas pitcher Ruger Riojas (13) smiles as he leaves the field after closing out an inning during the SEC college baseball game between Texas Longhorns and Texas A&M Aggies on April 25, 2025, at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin, Texas. (Photo by David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
One of two remaining unbeaten teams nationally, the No. 3 Texas Longhorns face off against the USC Upstate Spartans for the first time this weekend at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin as head coach Jim Schlossnagle’s team plays its final series before SEC play starts next week when the Ole Miss Rebels trip to the Forty Acres.
The weekend series marks the end of a nine-game road swing for the Spartans and the program’s first trip west of the Mississippi River as USC Upstate arrives with a 7-7 record in the midst of a two-game losing streak and at 4-6 on the road this season helmed by second-year head coach Kane Sweeney.
Last year, the longtime Spartans assistant led USC Upstate to its first-ever Big South regular season and tournament titles behind a powerful offense that ranked second nationally in hits (685) and runs (569), third in scoring (9.5), seventh in doubles (140), 10th in batting average (.315), and 19th in HBP (114), home runs (101), on-base percentage (.418), and slugging percentage (.524).
The head coach’s brother, Johnny, is the team’s standout designated hitter who was a first-team All-American last season with a slash line of .345/.500/.701 with 15 doubles, 18 home runs, and a program-record 82 RBI.
This year, the Spartans are still hitting well at .296 as a team, but don’t have a ton of power with 11 home runs — no player has more than two home runs on the year. Third baseman Jake Armsey is the team’s leading hitter at .354 with 10 RBI and 13 walks while center fielder Henry Zenor bats .333 with a team-high 13 RBI.
On the mound, the probable starters are left-hander Chris Torres (0-1; 8.25 ERA), right-hander Brent Stukes (2-1; 6.28 ERA), and right-hander Max Bianchini (1-1; 7.43 ERA) for a staff that has struggled on the way to a 6.03 ERA and 1.56 WHIP, allowing 18 home runs and 31 doubles. Redshirt freshman right-hander Jacob Kirby has started his career with four successful outings, posting a 0.00 ERA over 12.0 innings, striking out seven while limiting opponents to a .171 batting average.
The weekend rotation remains the same for Texas with senior right-hander Ruger Riojas (3-0, 1.12 ERA) takes the mound after a sensational start to the season — the UTSA transfer ranks fourth nationally with 30 strikeouts, recording at least nine in all three of his outings, including a career-high 11 in last Friday’s win over Coastal Carolina. Opponents are only batting .127 against the 6’0, 195-pounder.
The Horns have looked like a complete team early, outscoring its 12 opponents 109-22 with the help of a pitching staff that has allowed only 19 earned runs in 100 innings with the country’s second-best ERA (1.71) and WHIP (0.94), ranking 10th in OPS (1.012) and 13th in average (.330) nationally, and boasting a .988 fielding percentage that is tied for seventh-best nationally.
The start times are 6:30 p.m. Central on Friday, 2 p.m. Central on Saturday, and noon Central on Sunday, although storms forecast for Saturday afternoon could impact the game. All three games air on SEC Network+.
The five-time All-NBA wing is available to play for Boston on Friday night against Dallas, just 10 months after tearing his Achilles tendon in a playoff game against New York.
This is not a surprise. Tatum had been moved from “out” to “questionable” on Thursday, the first step in a player coming off a long absence returning to the lineup. Plus, the actions of the Celtics and Tatum himself pointed to this — Tatum has an ongoing docuseries on his return — "The Quiet Work," available on Peacock — which is the kind of thing a player only does if he expects to return.
Tatum will be on a minutes restriction, and while that number will increase with time, he is likely on one for the rest of the regular season (or close to it). Returning now gives Tatum and the Celtics about six weeks before the start of the playoffs to get him into game shape and find a rhythm with his teammates.
Tatum returning makes Boston better — this is a 28-year-old NBA champion and Olympic gold medalist who finished in the top six in MVP voting each of the past four seasons, and last season averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and six assists per game. Every team could use more size and shooting, and Tatum is a 6'8" wing who has shot 37% from 3-point range for his career.
There will be some rough spots working Tatum back into the rotation. Boston has gone 41-21 this season without him, thanks in large part to Jaylen Brown playing at an MVP level and averaging 28.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and five assists per game. Brown has been the leader of this team and Tatum, coming back off an injury, will have to sacrifice a little to fit into this team's system. That said, Brown and Tatum have proven they can play together and win together, and coach Joe Mazzulla has set the culture that everyone — including the stars — buys into.
Boston is about to get a lot better, starting tonight.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 15: Pitcher Chase Dollander #32 of the Colorado Rockies delivers a pitch during live batting practice at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on February 15, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Kyle Cooper/Colorado Rockies/Getty Images)
It’s been a little bit of a tougher week for the Colorado Rockies in the pitching department this past week. Offense across the league has been making an impact in the Arizona weather, and Rockies pitching has fallen into some old traps as they try to work through new pitches and find command.
Chase Dollander (0-0, 2.25 ERA) is one such pitcher trying to find himself in camp early on. While Dollander’s numbers are solid enough in the four-inning sample size, it’s clear that he’s been having trouble putting hitters away once he gets to two strikes. Lengthy at-bats and deep counts have shown he needs to dial things in and find a way to put hitters away with the strikeout. Still, he’s getting ground balls, and there is improvement as he battles for a roster spot.
J.T. Ginn (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will take the ball for the Athletics. Through two starts, Ginn has allowed just one hit over five innings with five strikeouts and two walks. The 26-year-old righty appeared in 23 games, including 16 starts, with the A’s last season while posting a 5.08 ERA in 90 1/3 innings. He’s off to a strong start in camp, but his command was a little iffy last season, meaning the Rockies can try to continue working on their plate discipline in this game.
J.T. Ginn will take the mound for today’s Spring Training matchup against the Colorado Rockies at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa. | Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images
As we head into the third weekend of Spring Training, the A’s are at home to face off against the NL West’s Colorado Rockies. The teams will go at it at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Arizona today at 12:05 PST. The 4-7 A’s have had some life in their bats this past week, scoring 40 runs since the calendar turned the page to March. And while I’m the first to say those run totals are meaningless in the big picture of things, it also fuels my belief that the offense is going to produce, and the success or failure of this 2026 club will rest upon the arms of the pitching staff.
J.T. Ginn will get the first shot at the Rockies today. He’s got a win with two starts and five innings this spring without giving up a run. He’ll go up against Chase Dollander for the Rockies. Dollander has also started two games and gone four innings with a 2.25 ERA.
Jeff McNeil falls into the leadoff spot today since Nick Kurtz isn’t in the starting lineup. I think many of us assumed this would be the reality even when Kurtz was playing. It will be interesting to see if this is a change just for today or a sign of the future batting order.
Dollander will face this lineup for the A’s today:
According to multiple reports, the Philadelphia Flyers have made another trade, again subtracting from their group of forwards.
With just over an hour to go until Friday's 3 p.m. NHL trade deadline, reports indicate the Flyers have traded veteran enforcer Nick Deslauriers to the Metropolitan Division rival Carolina Hurricanes.
The writing was on the wall for Deslauriers, 35, when the Flyers signed fellow tough guy Garrett Wilson to a one-year, two-way contract to make him eligible to jump from the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms to play NHL games in Philadelphia.
PHLY's Charlie O'Connor reports that the Flyers have received a conditional 2027 seventh-round pick from the Hurricanes in exchange for Deslauriers's services.
Hearing the return isn't anything much on Deslauriers, as expected. 7th rounder in 2027, and I believe there are conditions on it.
Deslauriers finishes his Flyers career with nine goals, 11 assists, and 20 points in 195 games across four seasons. In 20 games for the Flyers this season, the aging veteran recorded one point - an assist - and 33 penalty minutes.
The Flyers are now down two forwards, having traded Bobby Brink to the Minnesota Wild for defenseman David Jiricek earlier on trade deadline day.
Wilson and top forward prospect Alex Bump are expected to fill in the roster spots created by the losses of Deslauriers and Brink.
By moving on from Deslauriers, the Flyers have freed up an additional $1.75 million in cap space that they can leverage in another potential deal before the 3 p.m. deadline.
TOKYO, JAPAN - MARCH 19: General view of the Tokyo Dome during the pre-game ceremony prior to the MLB Tokyo Opening Series between Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs at Tokyo Dome on March 19, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Gene Wang/Getty Images) | Getty Images
If it is not obvious, the Dodgers and the United States are merely borrowing Shohei Ohtani, as most recently evidenced by Ohtani’s recent batting practice session at the Tokyo Dome in preparation for the upcoming World Baseball Classic.
With that in mind, in November 2025, MLB announced a documentary film about the 2025 Tokyo Series, titled Homecoming: The Tokyo Series. The documentary is billed as an examination of baseball in Japan with intersecting stories involving the five Japanese players who participated in the 2025 opening series: Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, Shota Imanaga, and Seiya Suzuki.
Baseball might be America’s pastime, but it is also an omnipresent part of everyday life in Japan.
Never was that more clear than during Major League Baseball’s Tokyo Series between the Cubs and Dodgers that opened the 2025 regular season this past March. That two-game series — headlined by Japanese superstars Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki — and the impact of baseball all around the country is the focus of a new documentary that will be coming to movie theaters soon.
“Homecoming: The Tokyo Series” celebrates the intersection of culture and global sport, illuminating how baseball unites beyond borders. Produced by Supper Club and in coordination with MLB Studios and BD4, Banijay Americas’ premium documentary label, the documentary will be shown in theaters on Feb. 23 and 24, distributed by Fathom Entertainment.
The documentary had a two-day limited theatrical run in theaters in late February 2026. For those who missed the documentary in theaters, CNN announced that the network would exclusively bring the documentary to its new streaming offering on March 27.
As we have covered, the 2025 Tokyo Series was both a massive cultural event in Japan and a runaway financial hit, leaving the sport wondering when Tokyo Series 2: Electric Boogaloo will happen with the Cubs and Dodgers.
There has been only one review of the film by Shikhar Verma of High on Films, who rated the film 3.5 out of 5. True Blue LA was provided with a screener of Homecoming: The Tokyo Series, and I watched the 90-minute documentary twice for this review.
Review of Homecoming: The Tokyo Series
The film barely scratches the surface of what it was like to experience the 2025 Tokyo Series. If I had to describe the film in a single sentence, it would be “atmospheric but light in substance.”
This criticism is not to say that the documentary is bad or not worth watching. The documentary suffers greatly from not deciding on a focal point, of which there are many. If you want a coherent story or narrative from this documentary, you will be disappointed. Here is how the film was described in its theatrical release:
Homecoming: The Tokyo Series explores Japan’s deep bond with baseball, culminating in the 2025 MLB Opening Day games in Tokyo as hometown heroes Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, Shota Imanaga, and Seiya Suzuki return to where their baseball dreams began. Through the lives of those shaped by the game, the film reveals how baseball bridges generations, connects nations, and reflects the balance between tradition and modern life. More than a chronicle of a sporting event, it is a portrait of a nation’s enduring love for baseball and the pride of watching its stars come home.
I would have loved to have watched that film, because the film I watched does not match this synopsis.
What happens when you do not pick a lane
The best way to describe Homecoming: The Tokyo Series is a mish-mash of two films with little overlap. If Director Sterman could pick a lane, I think the documentary would be infinitely more coherent.
On the one hand, you have a series of slice-of-life vignettes between a mother and adult son, Yasuko and Toru Tanahara, running a youth baseball team in Osaka, a player on the team and his father in Osaka, respectively Kanato and Shogo, superfan and salon owner, Hironobou Kanno, in Oshu (Ohtani’s hometown), owner of a glove restoration business, Re-Birth, Tomohiro Yonezawaya, in Ota (a ward inside Tokyo), master craftsman of bats for Mizuno, Tamio Nawa, in Yoro, discussing their individual stories and love affairs with baseball in Japan.
None of these threads end up at the Tokyo Dome to watch the Tokyo Series, or even overlap, which is a shame given the passion involved and appropriateness of the conclusion, considering the gravity of the homecoming happening in the literal background. The closest we get to an overlap of our cast and Tokyo Series is when Mr. Kanno is shown watching Game 2 of the Tokyo Series at home. Given how little the Tokyo Series is discussed or covered in this portion of the movie, you can excise it entirely and still have a lovely, atmospheric documentary on Japanese baseball, both in its place in Japanese culture and history.
To play Devil’s Advocate for a moment, tickets to the Tokyo Series were notoriously hard to get, even with all the efforts made to make the tickets available for Japanese locals. The face value for my Game 1 ticket was 32000 yen (about $212.84). Even with an anti-scalping law on the books, I paid exponentially more; therefore, gathering tickets for as many subjects as the film had was likely not feasible.
In the film’s other part, you have American expatriates like Jason Coskrey of The Japan Times, Jim Allen, a longtime freelance columnist, and Meghan Montemurro, Cubs domestic beat writer for the Chicago Tribune, discussing the nuances and characteristics of Japanese baseball with the backdrop of the Tokyo Series. In what had to be a logistics-driven decision, this portion of the film is largely Cubs-centric, with Montemurro going to the Cubs’ team dinner before the series and an off-site visit to a Japanese elementary school with former Cubs Derrek Lee and Kosuke Fukudome on March 19.
However, the inarguable main story of the Tokyo Series is Ohtani’s return to Japan, but the documentary is either unwilling or unable to give the topic the attention it deserves. Ohtani in Japan is a cross between The Beatles, Michael Jordan, and Babe Ruth: a blend of cultural zeitgeist and omnipresent history. One cannot overstate the imprint Ohtani has made and continues to make in Japan. One can see this impact in the sheer volume of advertisements in which Ohtani appears, which is not surprising given that he made $100 million from advertisements last year, leading all athletes worldwide in 2025.
Put another way, in the days leading up to the Tokyo Series, thousands of fans filled the Tokyo Dome just to watch the Dodgers and Ohtani practice. Not play, practice.
Per Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register on March 14, 2025:
MLB put tickets on sale for Friday’s workouts at the 55,000-seat facility known as “The Big Egg” and capped the crowd at approximately 10,000. Tickets priced at 2,000 yen (about $13) were gone within an hour and 10,507 showed up to watch their favorite team – say it in your best Allen Iverson voice – practice.
The Dodgers’ Tokyo Series opponents, the Chicago Cubs, worked out earlier in the day Friday in front of a much smaller crowd. For the Dodgers’ workout, the fans showed up, indeed painting the lower level of the seating area in Dodger blue.
A group of Japanese fans seated behind the Dodgers’ dugout were so ardent in their support they called out the names of players as they jogged out of the dugout onto the field, regardless of their stature – from All-Star outfielder Teoscar Hernandez to relief pitcher Anthony Banda…
When the star of the show, Ohtani, emerged from the dugout to do some running drills – he rarely takes batting practice on the field and didn’t Friday – his appearance drew a gasp from the crowd and then loud applause. His every move on the field during his brief appearance was shown on the large video board in center field.
“I really feel the excitement of the country with the games being played here,” Yamamoto said.
One would be oblivious to these facts if relying solely on Homecoming: The Tokyo Series. With no disrespect to Yamamoto, Sasaki, Suzuki, or Imanaga, if any or all of these players were not present, the Tokyo Series would have still gone on with nary a blip. Not so for Ohtani, as he’s that central to the overall narrative.
While Tokyo was gripped by Tokyo Series fervor, folks recognized my Dodgers cap and surmised I was there, even though I was as far away as Kumamoto. The U.S. equivalent is someone being able to figure out what you are doing in the country based on your appearance in Portland, Oregon, or Salt Lake City, Utah, for a contemporaneous event at Dodger Stadium.
In the documentary, Ohtani’s hometown is briefly featured, and a snippet of the media day press conferences is included. Accordingly, Ohtani’s absence is omnipresent in the documentary, except when the actual Tokyo Series is shown. In the vignettes about Japanese baseball, his absence, except as a figure of admiration or motivation, makes sense, since famous athletes are generally not daily fixtures in our everyday lives.
But for the portion of the film focusing on the lead-up to the Tokyo Series, it is an utterly inexcusable decision.
To further illustrate this point, imagine a hypothetical documentary about the 2025 World Series, but set from the Toronto Blue Jays’ point of view. Further imagine that the focal point was not Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or Ernie Clement (who both had a stellar series), or even Jeff Hoffman (the tragedy of the closer who blew it), but rather Kevin Gausman (the pitcher who got beat twice) or Brendon Little (he was there largely as an observer except for one solitary moment).
This hypothetical documentary would be a confusing watch because of an inherent flaw in its construction stemming from the wrong focus; instead, say MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Anecdotally, I saw far more Dodgers gear and fans than Cubs fans, and if pressed to estimate, I would put the split at around 85/15 in favor of the Dodgers during the weeks I was in Japan.
Homecoming: The Tokyo Series has the same faulty construction of viewpoint; whether to make the Cubs the focal point of the Tokyo Series coverage was a choice between logistics and directorial discretion, and it remains open.
Playing fast and loose with the truth
Ultimately, the documentary’s odd lack of focus is not its only flaw. In many ways, the regular-season games between the Dodgers and the Cubs are arguably an afterthought. The fact that Ohtani et al. returned to Japan to play games is more important than the actual results, which saw the Dodgers sweep.
The real story is that the Tokyo Series happened at all and, in general, was a celebration of and for Japan. Accordingly, Japanese players are becoming more common in MLB. To its credit, Homecoming: The Tokyo Series gets these facts correct during this portion of its runtime.
However, Coskrey, Allen, and Montemurro discuss the unique characteristics and energy of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), which is generally a loud, musical, and energetic affair. Japanese baseball can almost be thought of as a martial art, with an emphasis on small-ball fundamentals over the three-true outcome currently embraced in MLB.
This rowdy energy from the crowd was certainly present during the exhibition games between the Dodgers, Cubs, Tokyo Giants, and Hanshin Tigers.
It is worth noting that the Tigers won both of their exhibition games against the Cubs and Dodgers by shutout. And one would expect that energy to be present during the actual Tokyo Series, except it was not.
In a decision to fudge with the facts to support the narrative that NPB is loud and rowdy, Homecoming: The Tokyo Series decides to play fast and loose with the facts, pumping in crowd noise during the game sections and weirdly festishing the pregame activities by playing around with the chronological order of things.
First, while the exhibition games did live up to NPB’s reputation, the Tokyo Series had more in common with COVID-era baseball or The Masters through the aggressive, omnipresent silence from the crowd for most of the series, especially Game 1. This observation is not criticism, as the crowds were respectful and excited when any of the Japanese players played.
The first at-bat of the season was Shohei Ohtani. One would expect this crowd to be rowdy in rapturous joy. Instead, the atmosphere was generally quiet, rapt awe, as demonstrated below, which persisted for large portions of both games. Generally, fans did loosen up as the games went on, but it was a far cry from what I had come to expect from an NPB stadium.
As an aside, fans watching Ohtani practice and play at the Tokyo Dome now have loosened up considerably, even though restrictions on amateur or non-official videography and photography have emerged.
The oddest thing about seeing Ohtani in Japan is that instead of the stadium getting ear-splittingly loud when he steps into the box, it’s almost deathly silent. And THEN the oendan kicks in. pic.twitter.com/leNFBK7Ubg
I was expecting a rowdy, NPB-like atmosphere with bands, chanting, singing, and general tomfoolery over two days. Instead, I got two nights at The Masters.
The observation is not a criticism but a realization that I had an imperfect understanding of Japanese baseball fans. If you wanted to experience what NPB is known for in the Tokyo Series, your best bet would have been to watch the exhibition games against the Hanshin Tigers or Yomiuri Giants.
In my observation, the local fans were far more invested in the returning players, most notably Shohei Ohtani. They would react when any of the five returning Japanese stars were in the game or in a pinch. The rest of the time? Not so much.
During the highlights of Game 1, Homecoming: The Tokyo Series makes the bizarre decision to show the pregame festivities of Game 2, featuring taiko drums and traditional Japanese garb, as if they were part of Game 1, which is factually incorrect.
Game 1’s actual festivities? A celebration of baseball and Pokémon, complete with five-foot-tall Pikachu wearing road grey Los Angeles jerseys and home white Chicago jerseys. Each starting player was introduced with both his name and an associated, unique Mega Pokémon. For example, Ohtani had Mega Garchomp, Pete Crow-Armstrong had Mega Lucario, and Max Muncy had Mega Gengar.
Eventually, Homecoming: The Tokyo Series uses footage from Game 1, where you can see the Pikachus in the background, so there was no reason to fudge the timeline of events.
Final Score
For what it’s worth, Homecoming: The Tokyo Series never rises to meet the sum of its parts, which is a disappointment. Those unaware of the film’s faults will likely leave cinemas wondering what they just watched.
The film promised a story worth telling that I would greatly like to see on the screen someday. For its scope, the film has only generalities and slice-of-life vignettes rather than a cohesive narrative, much to its detriment.
For those who wish to re-experience what it was like in Tokyo during those days, I would recommend visiting my previously submitted essays, the Talk Dodgers to Me podcast’s Tokyo episode on the adventures of hosts Melissa Myer, Jaclyn Ruiz, and Aly Parker, and journalist Molly Knight’s Substack essays on the topic.
Cascade, Iowa-born Colin Rea is a well-traveled player, having had stints as a Padre, Marlin, Cub, Brewer, and Cub again. In seven years in the majors, he’s amassed a 1.9 bWAR (4.4 fWAR), a record of 37-27, a 4.41 ERA, 91 home runs, 182 bases on balls, 493 strikeouts, and 2 saves in 126 games, with 103 of them being starts.
He didn’t play very much with San Diego, who picked him in the 12th round in 2011, and was injured after going to Miami in 2016. He didn’t play in 2017-2019, resurfacing with the Cubs in 2020, where he didn’t really distinguish himself but showed enough for the Brewers to pick him up for the 2021 season. He spent 2022 in Japan and returned to Milwaukee, where he pitched quite a bit, and turned in decent seasons — especially his 2024 season, when he posted a 16-7 record, with a 4.29 ERA and 1.9 bWAR (0.8 fWAR).
He pitched for the Cubs in 2025, turning in an 11-7 record with similar statistics, and is expected to once again post similar stats, with his innings count is expected to be about half of that of the previous three years, in the 80 to 85 range, providing insurance against injury to the members of the Opening Day rotation. He is not expected to start as often as previously. (The exception is ZiPS, who expect overall similar performance.)
His SO/9 is usually in the 7-7.5 range. He doesn’t walk too many people, doesn’t give up a ton of home runs, and can be depended on to keep his team in the game. Most of his WAR stems from the last three years, lending credence to the view that his time in Japan really helped his cause. He’s 35, will be 36 in July, and who knows how much more time he has in The Show, but for now, he’s a perfectly cromulent sixth or seventh man, paired with Javier Assad, who fills a similar role.
Rea has all the pitches. He throws a four-seam fastball that sits 94-95, and in 2025 also fired a splitfinger, a sinker, slider, sweeper, curve, and cutter, in order of frequency. He throws a lot of first-pitch strikes.
Nick Foligno is joining his brother Marcus with the Minnesota Wild, who started off NHL trade deadline day by making two moves they hope will finally deliver some playoff success.
Minnesota acquired Foligno from the Chicago Blackhawks ahead of the deadline Friday, sending future considerations back to a rebuilding organization doing its 38-year-old captain a favor by giving him a chance not only to play with his brother but chase the Stanley Cup.
The Wild, who have not advanced beyond the first round since 2015 and have only one trip beyond the second in franchise history back in 2003, have been active all week. Before getting Foligno, they acquired forward Bobby Brink from Philadelphia, sending defenseman David Jiricek to the Flyers.
Minnesota general manager Bill Guerin, fresh off constructing the U.S. roster that won gold at the Milan Cortina Olympics, has been active all week. He claimed forward Robby Fabbri off waivers from St. Louis and made trades with Nashville for center Michael McCarron and Florida for defenseman Jeff Petry, filling a handful of depth needs and getting better at faceoffs, one of the Wild’s biggest weaknesses.
They’re not the the only ones adding.
Tampa Bay is acquiring Corey Perry from Los Angeles, according to a person familiar with the trade. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal had not yet been finalized.
Perry, who turns 41 in May, has reached the final and lost in five of the past six years, including 2022 with the Lightning. The pesky winger has a Cup ring from 2007 with Anaheim and gives coach Jon Cooper’s team veteran experience and an edge.
It’s a seller’s market on deadline day
With the likes of Vincent Trocheck, Nazem Kadri, Justin Faulk and maybe even Robert Thomas still on the market, sellers appeared to be in control, with prices high and leaving playoff-contending buyers weighing a range of options.
Trocheck remains with the New York Rangers, who traded Sam Carrick to Buffalo. Toronto has multiple players on the block. And St. Louis is open for business with almost everyone on its roster gettable at the right price, from Thomas and Faulk to Colton Parayko and Jordan Binnington.
Toronto sat three players — forwards Scott Laughton and Bobby McMann, and defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson — for its past two games to prevent them from getting injured. Any or all of the three could get traded before 3 p.m. EST.
John Carlson to the Ducks headlined the overnight trades
John Carlson is going to the Anaheim Ducks as part of a surprising deal from the Washington Capitals agreed to just after midnight. Anaheim sent a conditional first-round pick in either this or next year’s draft plus a 2027 third-rounder to Washington for Carlson, a 36-year-old defenseman who has only played in the league for the Capitals since 2009 and helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2018.
Carlson is a pending free agent without a contract beyond this year but was not expected to get moved before the deadline. He joins the Ducks as they look to end a seven-year playoff drought.
“John Carlson brings leadership, character, a high hockey IQ and a presence to our lineup,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said. “We are very excited to add a Stanley Cup winner to complement our group and make a big push down the stretch.”
Also overnight, the Sabres added defensemen Luke Schenn and Logan Stanley from Winnipeg, while the Blue Jackets won a bidding war to get winger Conor Garland from Vancouver.
Poised to end an NHL-record 14-year playoff drought, the Sabres sent forward Isak Rosen, defenseman Jacob Bryson, a 2026 fourth-round pick and a 2027 second-rounder to the Jets for Schenn and Stanley. They also got Carrick for third- and sixth-round picks.
Though they struck out on finalizing a deal with the Blues for Parayko, who invoked his no-trade clause in rejecting a trade to Buffalo, the Sabres have already shored up plenty of depth needs without affecting their core roster.
Columbus sent a third-round pick in the draft this year and a 2028 second-rounder to the Canucks for Garland, the soon-to-be 30-year-old who drew interest from multiple Eastern Conference contenders.
Which teams are still looking to make moves?
Much of the action Friday could be in the Eastern Conference after most of the top teams in the West did their shopping earlier this week. Back-to-back Stanley Cup finalist Edmonton is expected to be done after shoring up its defense with Connor Murphy and getting shutdown center Jason Dickinson in separate trades with Chicago; Dallas made moves for Tyler Myers and Michael Bunting; and league-best Colorado filled its biggest need at center by getting Nicolas Roy from Toronto.
Minnesota has added around the edges, though the Wild remain on the lookout for a top-six center who can help them match up with the Stars and Avalanche to get through a gauntlet of a Central Division.
Carolina and Tampa Bay are atop a wide-open East and, along with Detroit, would seem to be in the running for Trocheck and others. The Sabres, who swung big and missed on Parayko and Blues teammate Robert Thomas, also could be active.
The Utah Mammoth, trying to get into the playoffs for the first time since moving to Salt Lake City, got better on defense by acquiring Mackenzie Weegar from Calgary, but also have tons of draft picks, prospects and salary cap space to make another big splash.
Two-time defending champion Panthers have players available
Florida, after winning the Stanley Cup back to back and making three trips to the final in a row, is heading toward missing the playoffs, the first time for a defending champ since Los Angeles in 2015. Captain Aleksander Barkov’s torn ACL started a series of injuries that derailed the Panthers’ season and made them unexpected sellers.
As such, they are a team to watch in the final hours. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is a pending free agent, though depth forward A.J. Greer appears more likely to get traded, along with a handful of others.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Yanic Konan Niederhauser tore a ligament in his right foot, putting an early end to his rookie season with the Los Angeles Clippers.
The 7-foot Swiss center was injured Wednesday night in a 130-107 win against the Indiana Pacers. Niederhauser was diagnosed with a Lisfranc injury in his right foot and will require surgery, the team said. The injury involves damage to the ligaments or bones in the mid-foot.
Niederhauser averaged 4.3 points and 2.9 rebounds in 41 games. After being selected 30th in last year's NBA draft, he began the season in the G League, but after the Clippers traded Ivica Zubac last month, he was earning more minutes.
In his last five games, Niederhauser was shooting 52% from the floor and averaging 8.2 points and 6.2 rebounds while playing 18 minutes a game.
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 05: Julio Rodríguez #44 of Team Dominican Republic films on his camcorder during the 2026 World Baseball Classic workout day at loanDepot park on Thursday, March 5, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Kelly Gavin/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Almost nine years ago to this day, I wrote about the history of the World Baseball Classic, fearing its end and opining for its more thorough embrace. I opened with this:
The World Baseball Classic (WBC) should, ostensibly, be important. It’s a huge tournament that occurs only once every four years and features some of the best Major League Baseball talents and national stars, all competing to best represent their country. The preliminary rounds take place throughout the world, which theoretically should make them more accessible to a wider audience, and a number of MLB’s greatest international talents first gained fame on the Classic’s stage.
So why is it nearly impossible to find in-depth information on the WBC? What is the fate of the World Baseball Classic beyond 2017? Would changes to the tournament give it greater success, and is it even worthwhile to implement those changes? Why have they considered ending the WBC after this year?
Reporting to you now from 2026, I’m blown away by how different things are. There is no shortage of content or information about the WBC; many of the game’s biggest stars are competing; there were exhibition games all over the world against MLB teams. Heck, you can watch the games with relative ease and even hear some good announcers while you watch! It is an unmitigated joy to witness global baseball elevated in this way.
Here at LL, our intent is to create some game threads for the tournament, where you can caterwaul to your heart’s content about anything from Eduard Bazardo facing Andruw Jones’ son, Fernando Tatis Jr. looking radiant in the República Dominicana colors, Cal Raleigh catching Tarik Skubal or any number of other beautifully absurd WBC phenomena. But in the meantime, we thought it might be helpful to assemble a one-stop shop for all your WBC links and information. Enjoy!
Brilliant Meet at the Mitt podcast listener Josh was inspired by our WBC talk in the latest episode and created this incredible site that allows you to easily click on an MLB team and see which players will be playing for which countries – and to then see what players might be playing on any given day. Plus a link to Gameday for said game. PLUS which network the game is being broadcast on!
It’s truly amazing.
Since this is a volcano blog Mariners site, here’s a quick (there are 16, tied for first-most in MLB, plus two in the pitching pool for later play, italicized) list of M’s players and their teams.
Pedro Da Costa Lemos – Brazil
Josh Naylor – Canada
Guillo Zuñiga – Colombia
Michael Arroyo – Colombia
Julio Rodríguez – Dominican Republic
Luis Castillo – Dominican Republic
Charlie Beilenson – Israel
Dominic Canzone – Italy
Miles Mastrobuoni – Italy
Dane Dunning – Korea
Andrés Muñoz – Mexico
Randy Arozarena – Mexico
Dylan Wilson – Netherlands
Abdiel Mendoza – Panama
Cal Raleigh – USA
Gabe Speier – USA
Eduard Bazardo – Venezuela
Jhonathan Diaz – Venezuela
Pool play began March 4 and runs until March 11. Quarterfinals and semifinals happen March 13 to 16 and the championship game is on March 17 at 5 p.m. PT. Here’s a simple link to the schedule.
Pool A (San Juan, Puerto Rico): Puerto Rico, Panama, Canada, Cuba, Colombia
Pool B (Houston): USA, Brazil, Italy, Great Britain, Mexico
Pool C (Tokyo): Japan, Chinese Taipei, Korea, Australia, Czechia
Pool D (Miami): Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Netherlands, Israel, Nicaragua
Curious about the rules within the tournament? Here’s a remarkably thorough breakdown of everything from player eligibility, to pitch limits (because yes, there are pitch limits. Gotta protect from The Sog), to tie break scenarios.
Michael Clair, of MLB.com, has been covering baseball on a global scale for many years now (including a brilliant book about Czechia’s magical 2023 WBC run) and has a great archive of articles and is an excellent follow on whatever your preferred platform may be.
Need some background music to get yourself jazzed for the WBC? Great news, they just dropped their first-ever WBC Soundtrack.