Amongst all MLB news on Friday, the Blue Jays were the team that arguably owned the biggest headlines. One of those said headlines was the corresponding move in the call-up of Spencer Horwitz, which was that homegrown utility man Cavan Biggio was designated for assignment by the club.

Biggio had been in the Blue Jays organization since 2016 when he was drafted out of the University of Notre Dame in the 5th round. His father, Craig, had spent 20 years with the Houston Astros, collecting seven All-Star appearances, four Gold Glove awards, and five Silver Slugger awards.

During his time in Toronto’s farm system, Cavan was one of Toronto’s “three sons” alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Vlad Sr.) and Bo Bichette (Dante), and while the Blue Jays had several other prospects on the cusp of major league play, those three claimed a lot of the attention. While in AA-New Hampshire in 2018, Biggio was named Eastern League MVP and Rookie of the Year. Furthermore, current Blue Jays manager John Schneider was also named Manager of the Year for the same league as the skipper for the Fisher Cats.

Biggio was the second of the aforementioned three sons to make his major league debut in 2019, slashing .234/.364/.429 with a .793 OPS, 16 home runs, 48 RBIs, 17 doubles, and 14 stolen bases through 100 games. He spent a majority of games batting second, and his ability to get on base (.391 OBP) and work a count while in that batting order position proved to be the makings and foundation of a future top-of-the-order hitter.

He played in 59 of the 60 games in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, posting a .250/.375/.432 slash line with an .807 OPS, 8 home runs, 28 RBIs, and 41 walks. His on-base prowess continued to be at the forefront of his game as he played 46 games as the leadoff hitter.

Unfortunately, from 2021 onward, injuries to Biggio coupled with infield depth being built by the Blue Jays forced his playing time to take a significant dip. He suffered multiple back injuries in 2021 and he missed a month in 2022 after being placed on the COVID IL. Throughout the past few seasons, the Blue Jays added players such as Marcus Semien at second base, George Springer to the leadoff spot, Whit Merrifield at second base, Isiah Kiner-Falefa to a utility role, and Davis Schneider to a 2B/LF role, further eliminating daily playing time for Biggio.

Along with the above circumstances, Biggio wasn’t able to find any consistent rhythm at the plate outside of the occasional streak here or there. Between 2021 and 2024, Biggio slashed .219/.327/.351 with a .678 OPS, however his primary value on the team was his ability to play solid defense at multiple positions.

Biggio’s release was a surprising move to most fans given his namesake and his role in Toronto’s rebuild alongside Bichette and Guerrero Jr. It did prove to be an understandable one, though, but that doesn’t make it any less disheartening. Biggio accrued enough service time to turn down a potential demotion to AAA, but no details revolving around that have been revealed pointing to that being the case.

Now that the Cavan Biggio era has more than likely come to a close, let’s take a look at his best moments with the team.

Biggio’s first major league hit and home run

Biggio made his major league debut on May 24th, 2019 against the San Diego Padres. He went 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts on the night, but he would post a 3-for-4 stat line just two days later in the series finale.

A clean-shaven Biggio singled to right field against Padres starter Robbie Erlin in the second inning for his first career hit, and would follow that up with a towering solo home run against reliever Matt Wisler just two innings later. A classic memory of Biggio’s home run was the reaction from teammates Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who immediately jumped out of the dugout raising their hands and pumping their fists after the ball left the bat.

Biggio hits for the cycle

On September 17th, 2019, Biggio became the third player in Blue Jays history to hit for the cycle. He went 4-for-5 on the night with a home run, three runs, and four RBIs, and you can almost see the smile on his face as he rounded second on his cycle-clinching triple. That triple provided two more runs of insurance for the Blue Jays, extending their lead against the Baltimore Orioles to 7-4. Toronto would go onto win the game 8-5, one of their eleven wins against the Orioles that season.

His father had also hit for the cycle once in his career, making the Biggio’s the second father-son duo to hit for the cycle in MLB history.

A rare bunt double

On September 27th, 2o19, Biggio laid down a bunt in the 6th inning against the Rays. The Rays and aligned their defense uniquely for Biggio’s at-bat, deploying four outfielders and only three infielders. His bunt was popped up over the head of Brandon Lowe and ultimately landed in shallow left field, and since the infield was shifted, Biggio was able to reach second base. Sounds a lot like something we’d see Kevin Kiermaier do too, doesn’t it?

Clutch, go-ahead home run vs. Minnesota

On the heels of a sweep during a June 11th, 2023 game against the Twins, the Blue Jays found themselves in a 6-1 hole after the top of the 5th inning. Toronto was able to tack on three runs in the bottom half of the frame with a Guerrero Jr. RBI and a two-run home run from Matt Chapman.

In the bottom of the 8th, the Blue Jays put two men on with no one out for Biggio, who was batting ninth and batting close to .180 on the season. Biggio rose to the occasion, crushing a go-ahead three-run home run against Emilio Pagan to put Toronto ahead for good. It was arguably Biggio’s biggest hit of his career to that point, and it had the Rogers Centre in a frenzy.

Unassisted double play + go-ahead homer vs. Cleveland

The Blue Jays were stuck in a pitcher’s duel on August 7th, 2023 against the Guardians, as Hyun-Jin Ryu and a few of Toronto’s relievers held Cleveland scoreless through the first seven innings. With one out in the top of the 8th, Biggio followed up a Daulton Varsho single with a go-ahead two-run home run to right field against Cleveland reliever Enyel De Los Santos. Biggio would follow up that home run with an impressive unassisted double play in the bottom half of the frame, ending a major threat from the Guardians.

Toronto would go onto win 3-1, with Biggio arguably being the MVP of that game.





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