Cavan Biggio’s time with the Toronto Blue Jays is over.
The 29-year-old infielder, a fifth-round selection by the Blue Jays organization in 2016, is set to depart after being designated for assignment Friday ahead of the club’s series opener versus the Oakland Athletics.
Biggio’s departure from Toronto’s roster comes as Spencer Horwitz joins the team after spending the first two months of the 2024 season at triple-A Buffalo. Earlier in the day, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reported the 26-year-old prospect was travelling out West to meet up with the big-league club.
🔹 INF Spencer Horwitz recalled from Triple-A and will be active for tonight’s game
🔹 UTIL Cavan Biggio has been designated for assignment pic.twitter.com/vCZSiUmgDz
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) June 7, 2024
With all three minor-league options remaining, the Blue Jays could’ve reassigned Biggio to triple-A rather than designating him for assignment. However, since he had recently gained five years of service time, that could only happen if he provided his consent.
And, as Davidi added, the belief is Biggio would not agree to a minor-league demotion.
Blue Jays designate Cavan Biggio for assignment to make room for recall of Spencer Horwitz.
Biggio had options remaining but as a player with five years of service time, he would have to consent to an option. Presumably, he did not.
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) June 7, 2024
The Blue Jays now have seven days to either find a trade or place Biggio on outright or unconditional release waivers. But considering he hits left and can play almost everywhere, chances are he won’t have trouble finding a new home elsewhere, whether via trade or waivers.
Biggio has struggled at the plate this season, slashing .200/.323/.291 with only two home runs and nine RBIs while posting an 88 wRC+ across 44 games. He had struck out 32.1 per cent of the time, recording the highest strikeout rate of his six-year big-league career.
The left-handed hitting utility player struggled miserably early on last season, too, but turned his campaign around in late May, hitting six home runs and 35 RBIs with a .259/.375/.391 slash line and 120 wRC+ over his final 81 games. That said, he only accounted for 0.9 fWAR by season’s end, the second-lowest rating of his career at the time.
Horwitz will look to spark an offence struggling to find an identity, although he is absent from the Blue Jays’ starting lineup in Friday’s series opener against the A’s.
In his third season at triple-A, the left-handed-hitting first baseman has been among the top hitters at that level, leading the International League in hits (71) and doubles (22) while sitting second in OBP (.456) and fourth in wRC+ (157). He’s also tied for the third-highest AVG (.335) and owns the seventh-best walk-to-strikeout ratio (1.07).
The 2019 24th-round selection made his major league debut with the Blue Jays last season, appearing in 15 games across two separate stints. He went 10-for-39 (.256) with two doubles, one home run and seven RBIs while earning four walks and 12 strikeouts.
It remains unclear how Toronto will divide playing time at first base now that Horwitz, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Justin Turner are on the active 26-man roster together. There’s also seemingly a log jam at the DH spot, with Daniel Vogelbach still in the mix.
One potential solution could be having Horwitz at second base — where he made 11 starts with Buffalo earlier this season — or moving Guerrero to third on occasion.
