Last week, the Toronto Blue Jays made an impactful roster move by designating utility player Cavan Biggio for assignment while calling up Spencer Horwitz in a corresponding move.
The DFA came as a bit of a surprise to many, as the club could have designated veteran bat Daniel Vogelbach or fellow utilityman Ernie Clement to make room on the roster but the front office elected instead to DFA Biggio. With over five years of service time, the likelihood that Biggio rejected a minor league assignment in favour of a new start is rather high although not 100% confirmed at this time.
Looking ahead, the Jays’ front office is likely now trying to trade the 29-year-old to offload the remaining salary left after his one-year deal worth $4.2 million to avoid arbitration this past winter. There will likely be a few suitors looking for a bounce-back candidate in Biggio, who is authoring a .614 OPS through 110 at-bats while playing sporadically amongst a cluttered Jays roster full of similar utility types.
Here are three teams who could come calling Toronto over the next few days.
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals sit in third place within an NL East division that is seeing the Philadelphia Phillies running away early with a double-digit lead over every team except for the Atlanta Braves. With a budding roster full of top-named talent either getting their feet wet in the big leagues or knocking on the big league door, the Nats have been keeping themselves in the conversation even with a sub .500 ERA.
“I spoke to Cavan and he said he was crushed… It’s a huge loss – in my opinion – in terms of the professionalism he brings.”
@YYZBackstop reflects on Cavan Biggio’s #BlueJays tenure and his next steps after being DFA’d with @BlakeMurphyODC.
#TOTHECORE pic.twitter.com/MesxSDUcJp— Sportsnet 590 The FAN (@FAN590) June 10, 2024
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Where Biggio can help this squad is particularly at first base, where the Nationals currently employ a slumping Joey Gallo, and would allow the club to keep Joey Meneses in the DH spot while upgrading at first. With a payroll of just over $108 million, the Nats could part with some younger talent that won’t impact any of their future plans (as the trade value shouldn’t be incredibly high) and Biggio wouldn’t be blocking top prospects such as Trey Lipscomb or James Wood in terms of roster space given Biggio’s versatility to play across the diamond, all without breaking the bank.
Biggio would likely work off the bench compared to a starter role but the move would allow some additional positional flexibility for a Nats squad that is fighting to stay in the Wild Card race.
Miami Marlins
The Miami Marlins are in the basement of the NL East and things are not looking too bright in Florida for the remainder of the 2024 season. Numerous pitchers are on the IL for an extended period, the Tim Anderson experiment is going poorly at shortstop, and one of the club’s top players to start the season currently plays in San Diego after being traded early into the year in Luis Arráez.
Biggio would likely join the Marlins in a bench capacity alongside Vidal Brujan and Emmanuel Rivera but the lefty-bat has experience in the outfield and after the Marlins designated Avisail Garcia for assignment earlier this month (and later released), the club could use his experience alongside Nick Gordon, Jazz Chisholm Jr. Bryan De La Cruz, and Dane Myers.
For a small-market squad like Miami who could take on the limited salary left on Biggio’s deal, the move could benefit both parties – the Notre Dame product can play with more regularity while the Marlins don’t break the bank for an experienced player looking for a new start.
Houston Astros
There’s no place like home.
While Biggio has never played for a team other than the Toronto Blue Jays, he is no stranger to Houston and the Astros organization large in part due to his father Craig – a Hall of Famer who spent 20 years with the organization.
Wishing Cavan Biggio the best going forward. Played all over the field, did whatever was asked of him. Got to chat a lot with him over the years and always enjoyed my time with him. I hope he lands in a good spot.
— Dan Shulman (@DShulman_ESPN) June 8, 2024
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Sitting in third place in the AL West after a slow start to the season, the Astros have struggled to get any offense going from the first base spot in Jose Abreu and Jon Singleton and have a bench that doesn’t possess a ton of experience at the big league level. Factor in that Alex Bregman is a pending free agent this offseason and Biggio has another year of arbitration to go, he could be a potential fit to take reps at the hot corner should Bregman leave this winter while generating a feel-good story given the family ties to the organization.
Honourable Mentions: Los Angeles Angels, Atlanta Braves