Blue Jays: Five players looking to bounce back in 2022

Cavan Biggio

One of the first of the Blue Jays core prospects to make their MLB debut back in 2019, Cavan Biggio entered this past campaign as the club’s primary option at third base with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. now across the diamond and Marcus Semien coming in to take over at second base.

It was a position he had some experience in, 56 games throughout his time in the Minor Leagues and 10 games with the Jays prior to the 2021 campaign, but he struggled early with the club. While athletic and quick, Biggio struggled defensively and was also struggling at the plate, owning a .630 OPS come mid-May. Biggio would then find himself on the injured list for a few weeks and wouldn’t return until mid-June, going another month and a half before going back on the IL and missing almost the rest of the campaign.

The bat did start to creep back after his first IL stint, as he would finish the year with a .224/.322/.356 slash line and a .678 OPS but it certainly did not compare to his two previous campaigns. While he did get some reps at third base upon his return, the club used Biggio in a variety of positions across the diamond, bringing back the possibility of using him as a utility player in the near future.

With Semien now gone, the Jays could have Biggio return to his second base position and continue letting Santiago Espinal and Kevin Smith fight it out for third base (barring an offseason acquisition or signing). The club could also try and continue using him as a utility player but considering the next best option behind Biggio at second is Otto Lopez, the Jays may not be so keen to hand off the position to a rookie in a year where the playoffs are in reach.

A bounce-back campaign for Biggio would go along the lines of him continuing to get walks and finding ways on base while also proving he can be an everyday player, whether at one position or across the diamond. Staying healthy will be key of course but considering his past injury history isn’t at the same level as other members of the roster, let’s hope 2021 wasn’t a sign of things to come for the lefty-batter.