Sports briefs
Wild Things
add infielder
The Wild Things announced Thursday the signing of infielder Wander Franco for the 2019 Frontier League season.
Franco is entering his eighth season of professional baseball after being signed by the Kansas City Royals in 2012 out of Bani, Dominican Republic. During the 2017 offseason he was selected in the Rule 5 Draft by the San Francisco Giants. Franco played the 2018 season for the San Jose Giants and was selected for the California League all-star game.
The infielder has posted a .275 career batting average with 30 home runs as a pro. Last year, he hit 39 doubles and drove in 65 runs while hitting .277 in 124 games for San Jose. Franco brings his experience defensively at third base, where he has made 379 career starts.
Franco’s cousins are major league veterans Willy and Erick Aybar, his brother Wander Alexander Franco has put together a solid career with the Astros and his youngest brother, Wander Samuel Franco, plays for the Tampa Bay Rays and is ranked the 13th best prospect in the major leagues.
“Wander was heavily sought after by about a dozen teams. We are very excited to add such a talented player to our roster,” said Wild Things general manager Tony Buccilli. “He should be a simple plug and play at third base and one of the marquee bats in our lineup. History shows his game is built around extra-base hits and being relied on to drive in runs.”
In the NHL
Mitch Marner scored twice, the second on a short-handed penalty shot to give Toronto the lead for good, and the Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins 4-1 on Thursday night in the opener of their first-round playoff series.
It was Toronto’s first postseason penalty shot in 20 years.
Frederik Andersen made 37 saves and William Nylander and John Tavares also scored for Toronto, which swiped the home-ice advantage in the best-of-seven series as it tries to advance through Boston for the first time in six tries.
Game 2 is Saturday night.
In the NBA
The Cavaliers will continue to rebuild with a new coach. Larry Drew’s run is over after one season.
The team parted ways Thursday with Drew, who took over as the Cavs coach in October and led the club to 19 wins amid a swarm of injuries in Cleveland’s first season since LeBron James left as a free agent.
The Cavs tied for the NBA’s second-worst record, but Drew earned praise for keeping his team competitive despite a young roster and only having All-Star forward Kevin Love for 22 games because of injuries.
- The Sacramento Kings have fired coach Dave Joerger after three losing seasons.
The team announced the decision Thursday, one day after finishing its 13th straight losing season – the NBA’s longest active playoff drought.
General manager Vlade Divac said in a statement the organization needs to “move in a different direction” to reach the playoffs. The dismissal came on the same day the Kings extended Divac’s contract through the 2022-23 season.
- The Memphis Grizzlies started the offseason Thursday with plenty of questions to answer, then controlling owner Robert Pera added to the to-do list by firing coach J.B. Bickerstaff as part of a front-office shake-up that demoted general manager Chris Wallace to scout.
The Grizzlies announced the moves after both Bickerstaff and Wallace spoke to reporters following a second straight season outside the playoffs. After a 12-5 start, Memphis plummeted and finished 33-49, tied with New Orleans and Dallas.