Blue Jays: Obvious, interesting, and drastic changes to make

The interesting

Arguably the biggest disappointment for the Blue Jays so far in 2021, other than the mountain of injuries, has been the start to season for Cavan Biggio. The 26-year-old has struggled on both sides of the ball, slashing .171/.292/.366 over his first 41 at-bats, while also having a time tough with the transition to third base. Lately he looks like he’s lost most of his confidence, and a few days off to deal with sore fingers may have been a blessing in disguise.

Still, the Blue Jays might benefit from using a method they’ve had success with in the past, and that’s sending him to Triple-A to get his groove back. It worked well for Teoscar Hernandez a few years ago, it did the same for Lourdes Gurriel Jr. too, and even the great Roy Halladay returned to the minor leagues to make some adjustments many years ago.

Our own Callum Belshaw wrote about the same recently, and the more I’ve watched Biggio lately the more I’m starting to think it’s a good idea. It wouldn’t have to be a long stay at all, but I think it could do the Texas native a world of good to experience some success and even work on a few things. For example, he’s been struggling to catch up with the fastball this year, and working on that specific element of his game could be more effective against minor leaguers.

More importantly, a decision like this would be about helping him find his confidence again. With the Blue Jays likely getting Teoscar Hernandez back sometime in a week or so, that might be the time to do it if Biggio is still scuffling. Joe Panik has been playing solid enough to fill in for a few weeks, and Santiago Espinal has also impressed in limited opportunity.

Neither of them can bring what Biggio does to the table though, at least when he’s right. At the moment he’s looking pretty lost, and unless he turns things around this week against the Red Sox and Rays, a trip to Trenton might be in his best interest to get him back on track..