Former Blue Jays infielder set to break camp with AL rival

Cavan Biggio is back in the bigs.

After spending last season with three different teams (the Blue Jays being one of them), the former Toronto top prospect spent all of camp with the Kansas City Royals. And based off the team's latest roster moves, should break camp with the team for Opening Day

Cavan Biggio is set to break camp with the Kansas City Royals

Biggio's time with the Blue Jays was an interesting one. A top prospect out of high school, Biggio starred collegiately for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish before being drafted by Toronto in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB Draft.

He spent three years in Toronto's minor league system before bursting onto the scene in 2019 when he slugged 16 home runs and stole 14 bases in 100 games, which helped him finish fifth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting.

Biggio failed to build on that success, however, making him one of the more memorable "what ifs" in recent Blue Jays history.

He hit .250 in the shortened 2020 season, but failed to hit better than .235 in any of the next four seasons (or have an OPS+ above 100). He got off a good start last year with Toronto (he hit a homer on Opening Day), but his playing time eventually fell off as the season went on.

He played in 44 games with Toronto last year before being DFA'd.

That set off a whirlwind of a season for the 29-year-old, as he was acquired (and subsequently cut) by the Dodgers, Giants and Braves before the season ended. He ended up playing in 34 MLB games for the Dodgers and Braves, where he went 15-for-78 (.192).

He signed a minor league contract with the Royals in the offseason and, despite hitting .194 in the spring, seems set to have a spot on their Opening Day roster.

While the team hasn't officially selected him, they've trimmed their spring roster to 26 players after assigning Harold Castro, Taylor Clark, Brian O'Keefe and Tyler Tolbert to minor league spring training and optioning Nick Loftin, Drew Waters and Joey Wiemer to Triple-A.

The Royals have two 40-man roster spots available, so they won't need to make a subsequent move to add Biggio to the roster.

While Biggio is hitting judt .194 in the spring, he's walked in 23.9% of his plate appearances, which fits into his career profile of being a patient hitter. He doesn't strike out a ton and can play first base, second base, third base and the corner outfield spots, which allows for him to be a valuable and versatile piece off the bench.

He was never able to put those skills together with Toronto, but perhaps his reduced role in Kansas City could help him find more success.

He'll be joined on the Royals bench by Dairon Blanco, Mark Canha, Michael Massey and Freddy Fermin.

The Royals open the season on March 27 at home against the Cleveland Guardians.