4 more Blue Jays players whose jobs are in jeopardy after Cavan Biggio DFA

On Friday evening, the Toronto Blue Jays promoted one of their premier prospects, Spencer Horwitz, for another go-round at the big league level. He'd been swinging one of the hottest bats in all of Triple-A prior to the well-deserved promotion.

In a corresponding move, the club elected to designate Cavan Biggio for assignment. Biggio, a long-time utility player who'd filled every role imaginable for the Jays since debuting in 2019, will likely see his tenure in Toronto end with a whimper rather than a bang.

With this move, though, the Blue Jays sent a message. Fail to perform, and you're gone. This ruthless tactic showed that there's not going to be any patience with players who consistently fail to get it done at the game's highest level. Biggio, who just recently hit five years of big league service time and rejected an assignment to Triple-A, could not be kept around anymore with the embarrassing stat line he'd sported through 44 games this season.

Swapping out Biggio's bat for one of Horwitz's caliber should pay dividends fairly quickly for the Blue Jays. However, the moves shouldn't be done. With a few more big league-ready players in the minors, it's time for the Jays to put their money where their mouth is and make a few more tough decisions to prove they're serious about contention.

And we're not even only talking about position players. Sure, there are a few of them on the 26-man active roster that need to be sent packing, but it's not only hitters. Some pitchers on the fringe of a roster spot could also be seeing their time in the bigs winding down if they are unable to turn it around in the immediate future.

Let's dive in. Here are four more Blue Jays players whose jobs are in jeopardy now that Cavan Biggio is off the roster.

Genesis Cabrera

Cabrera, acquired at last year's trade deadline, has shown two different versions of himself since coming over from the Cardinals. The left-hander made 29 post-trade appearances for the Jays last year, sporting a 2.66 ERA, 3.68 FIP and 162 ERA+ across 23.2 innings of work.

Things have gone much differently for him in 2024, though. Cabrera has 25 outings under his belt already but is sporting an ERA in the mid-5.00s and has ran into trouble in the vast majority of those games. His strikeout rate is down, his walk rate has skyrocketed and he's also allowing over 11 hits per nine innings, which is nearly double his rate from last year.

Alongside Tim Mayza, the Blue Jays want to have at least one more left-handed reliever in the bullpen, but Cabrera hasn't seemed to be the answer so far. Brendon Little has also gotten some playing time, too, but he hasn't been sharp either. This puts the Jays in a weird spot if they want to continue to roster two LHP in the 'pen.

Cabrera is still under team control for at least one more year, as he's arbitration-eligible this offseason and then slated to hit free agency at the end of the 2025 campaign. He's also still got minor league options, so his 26-man spot is in much more jeopardy than his 40-man spot.

Ernie Clement

Alongside teammate and close friend Davis Schneider, Ernie Clement was an immensely popular member of the 2023 Blue Jays despite the fact that he only appeared in 29 games. He's versatile, makes a ton of contact and just plays the game the right way. Not to mention, he was absolutely torching minor league pitching before the Jays first called him up to the big league roster.

This 29-game showing, along with the fact that he's also out of minor league options, was enough for the utilityman to crack the 2024 Opening Day roster. His ability to play all over the infield (and even some outfield in a pinch, although that has not been needed yet this year outside of a two-inning showing in left field) earned him a spot through and through.

Unfortunately, things haven't panned out for the 28-year-old. He was a feelgood story last year but now he's teetering on the edge of unplayable, like Biggio was before him. Clement has a decent-but-not-great .227 average this year but his OPS has dipped down to .589 and his OPS+ currently sits at 69, which means he's been 31 percent below league-average at the plate so far.

Again, Clement can bounce around the field, but he's also struggled quite a bit on defense. In just 36 games at third base, he's got -2 OAA and has committed five errors. He has not looked comfortable at the main position the Blue Jays need him to line up at.

While the organization lacks an immediate replacement for Cabrera in the bullpen, the same cannot be said for position player prospects. Addison Barger is down in Triple-A eyeing a second call-up to the big leagues, so the Jays already have Clement's replacement waiting in the wings.

Kevin Kiermaier

Kiermaier is not generally labeled as a player on the cusp of a DFA, but he should be. To this point, he's essentially been deadweight on this Blue Jays roster and has largely proved to be a waste of $10.5M, which is not exactly a small amount of money.

Kiermaier, another extremely popular player, was brought back to fill a spot that Daulton Varsho can and should have taken. The 34-year-old has been one of the worst hitters on a Jays team that is full of hitters that are hard to watch, so that's seriously saying something. Through 45 games, Kiermaier is hitting .207 with a .565 OPS and 63 OPS+.

Historically, Kiermaier's value has not been at the plate, but what he can do in center field. However, his standout offensive performance in 2023 raised expectations for what he can do with the bat. Last year, the 12-year veteran had a 104 OPS+, his highest since 2017, and raised nearly every single statistic on his line from what they had been in years past.

Now, he's practically an automatic out. To his credit, he's continued to play a mean center field, but the Blue Jays need offense. Letting Kiermaier go will not come with any long-term financial implications, as he's a pending free agent anyway. Let Varsho slide over to center field and give the majority of at-bats in left field to someone like Nathan Lukes or even Will Robertson, who is not yet on the 40-man roster but could be this year's version of Davis Schneider.