After spending 6 years with the Toronto Blue Jays, INF Cavan Biggio was designated for assignment earlier Friday. Meanwhile, Toronto’s 16th-ranked prospect (per MLB.com) 1B/OF Spencer Horwitz was promoted to the 26-man roster in a corresponding move. The move likely marks the end of the “Baseball Sons Trio” of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, and Cavan Biggio.
Roller Coaster Career
Cavan Biggio was called up during the frustrating 2019 campaign, a developmental season for Toronto’s young core with first-year manager Charlie Montoyo. Biggio made his MLB debut against the San Diego Padres on May 24th of that very season, going 0-3 in his first career contest. Despite the lacklustre debut, the versatile lefty crushed his first MLB home run in that same series off of RP Matt Wisler in Toronto’s 10-1 victory on May 26th.
To follow up a 2019 campaign where he finished with a .793 OPS and 16.5 BB%, Biggio emerged as a mainstay throughout the 60-game 2020 season. The lefty put up career-highs in categories like OPS (.807), AVG (.250), and wRC+ (122) batting up in the order. Toronto’s future was definitely looking bright, with Biggio being a key component to the future success.
However, in 2021, Biggio found himself in a positional battle with Santiago Espinal for the 3B spot on the roster. The newly-converted 3B experienced plenty of regression in the power department, specifically due to the fact that his launch angle decreased combined with the lack of pulling the baseball. Meanwhile, Espinal hit his way to a .781 OPS during the 2021 season while also tallying 8 Defensive Runs Saved to Biggio’s 1. With Espinal taking over the spot, Biggio wasn’t able to get consistent playing time.
After another poor campaign in 2022, Biggio was looking ahead to 2023 despite his recent struggles. The then 28-year-old focused more on his quality of contact, resulting in jumps in Barrel% (7.4%) and HardHit% (33%). Biggio also roped one of the clutchest home runs of the season for the Blue Jays in 2023 with a go-ahead 3-run shot off of RP Emilio Pagan to seal the comeback against the Minnesota Twins. He would finish the campaign with a solid 103 wRC+.
Present Day Problems
Throughout the young 2024 season, Cavan Biggio has been struggling immensely at the plate, resulting in a career-low in OPS at .614. This poor performance, combined with the emergence of 3B Isiah Kiner-Falefa and 2B Davis Schneider, made Biggio the odd one out, resulting in spot starts here-and-there around the diamond.
With Biggio getting DFA’d due to his inconsistency at the dish, Toronto will have 7 days to decide whether to place him back on the 40-man, place him on waivers, release him outright, or trade him. The 29-year-old would have to consent to being optioned to AAA due to his service time exceeding the mark of 5 seasons.
So Long, Partner
Overall, the exit for Cavan Biggio is definitely not what fans wanted, especially after a promising start to his career. Toronto’s trio will now become a duo between Guerrero Jr. and Bichette. Despite the struggles, Biggio has certainly provided fans with memorable moments that will live on in the history books.