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Shortstop Leo Balcazar got off to a hot start at Low-A Daytona in 2023.

In the second game of a doubleheader that year on April 30, he scored the winning run as part of a dramatic ninth-inning walk-off. But just after stepping on the plate, Balcazar tore the ACL in his right knee.

He missed the remainder of 2023 before returning to the field in 2024 and moving up to High-A Dayton. Balcazar struggled to hit for much of the season, but when August rolled around, things started to come together for him.

He carried that into 2025, when he returned to the Midwest League and looked like a different player.

“I felt a little heavy in the first half,” Balcazar said of 2024. “So we made an adjustment with that, working hard in the gym and we saw the results.”

The 21-year-old from Venezuela spent the first half of 2025 in Dayton before earning a promotion to Double-A Chattanooga in the second half. While he hit for less power in Double-A, he also saw his walk and contact rates rise.

Between his two stops in 2025, Balcazar hit .263/.339/.381. He set career highs with 20 doubles and 12 home runs, while his 13% strikeout rate was the lowest of his career.

It wasnâ€t just the offense that came back around. Balcazarâ€s quickness and agility improved as well as he got further away from his knee injury. He saw action at both shortstop and second base and then added third base in the Arizona Fall League.

“The further heâ€s gotten out from the injury, his confidence, his overall athleticism, the way heâ€s moving around the infield up the middle—heâ€s getting back to the pre-injury Balcazar that we knew,†Reds senior director of player development Jeremy Farrell said.

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NEW YORK — Bo Bichette was set to run Wednesday for the first time since spraining his left knee last month, and the Toronto Blue Jays still hope their starting shortstop will be able to return to the lineup later this postseason.

A two-time All-Star, Bichette ended the regular season on the injured list and was left off the roster for the AL Division Series against the New York Yankees. He took at-bats in a simulated game Tuesday in Toronto against teammates Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt, then joined the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium.

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“The last three days have been pretty positive for him,” manager John Schneider said Wednesday. “Running today for the first time. We’ll take it a day at a time and just listen to how he’s feeling.

“… I think he’s probably turned the corner a little bit in terms of making some steady progress. It wasn’t just kind of hitting in the cage; it was facing some live pitching and knowing that he was going to be running today for the first time.”

Bichette hasn’t played since Sept. 6, when he sprained his knee in a collision with Yankees catcher Austin Wells.

“I think he’s making some strides, and we’ll continue to take it a day at a time,” Schneider said.

If Toronto advances, they would open the best-of-seven AL Championship Series at home on Sunday.

Andres Gimenez, a three-time Gold Glove winner at second base with Cleveland Guardians, has shifted from second to shortstop with the Blue Jays lately to help fill in for Bichette.

The 27-year-old Bichette put together a strong season before getting injured, hitting .311 with 18 home runs, 94 RBIs and an .840 OPS in 139 games. He finished second in the majors in batting average to Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.

Bichette, who can become a free agent after the World Series, is the son of former major league slugger Dante Bichette.

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Former Olympic track cyclist Dani Rowe took up running in 2018 after retiring from cycling but she says adapting to running was not an easy transition.

“When I was riding we weren’t allowed to do any running whatsoever, no weight-bearing but it was something I always wanted to do post-cycling career,” she said.

“I actually struggled initially with stress fractures because of having done no weight-bearing exercise with cycling, [I had a low] bone density.

“My heart and lungs were almost too strong for my bones, tendons and ligaments – which are obviously what you need for running.

“I had to go back to basics with walk-running and really build up, and in the last few years I’ve done the Manchester half and London full marathons and loved every minute.”

A mother of two, she says she was inspired to take part after watching the event with her children.

“It was just incredible, the atmosphere, I think I cried multiple times just watching people running and doing incredible things for charities,” she said.

“I’m a better person and mum through exercising and running gives me that outlet to switch off and have me time and pushing my body.

“When I run, I find that every version of myself is better.”

She is targeting a finish time of one hour and 30 minutes for her half-marathon.

“I’ve had an amazing friend who’s been trying to coach me to try to break that target on Sunday but it’s going to be tough,” she said.

“I’ve had such a busy lead-up I couldn’t have done any more so I’ll have to be pleased with whatever it is when I cross the finish line.”

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