Dodgers DFA popular ex-Blue Jays infielder after failed bounce-back bid

One of the first trades of the year for the Toronto Blue Jays saw the club ship Cavan Biggio to the Dodgers for minor league pitcher Braydon Fisher. Biggio, a former fifth-round pick of the Jays back in 2016, had spent parts of six seasons on their big league roster prior to the trade, but he largely failed to capitalize on the playing time he was handed.

Now 29 years old, Biggio got off to a rough start for the Blue Jays this year. In 44 games, he recorded just six extra-base hits with a .200 batting average and an OPS+ that dipped all the way down to 77, which means he was 23 percent below league-average at the plate.

Despite the fact that he scuffled, he still came up through the ranks alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette and the three of them were supposed to pair up and resemble a trio of sons of former big league stars. Obviously Bichette and Guerrero have taken off, but Biggio has not been even an above-average big leaguer since back in 2020.

Dodgers DFA former popular Blue Jays INF Cavan Biggio

The Dodgers remain an absolute juggernaut in the NL West, but they've been completely ravaged by injuries this season. Just in the infield alone, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Chris Taylor, Max Muncy, Miguel Rojas and the newly-acquired Tommy Edman are all currently on the injured list.

On Monday evening, the Dodgers activated Freeman from the restricted list and designated Biggio for assignment. The former will take his starting first baseman gig back while the latter is likely going to latch on to another club via the waiver wire. Biggio made it into 30 games for the Dodgers post-trade and while he hit three home runs in that stretch, he had a .192 batting average, .635 OPS and 81 OPS+. Even from the get-go, it wasn't smooth sailing in L.A., as he was getting booed by Dodgers fans just a few days into his tenure.

Don't hold you breath on a reunion here, as the Blue Jays have successfully replaced Biggio and his ... production in the lineup with the likes of Ernie Clement, first-baseman-turned-second-baseman Spencer Horwitz and Luis Jimenez. He had a solid run in Toronto, but his current output is not exactly screaming "bring me back home".

Fisher, 24, has been off to a strong start in the Blue Jays organization. He's a former fourth-round pick of the Dodgers in 2018 and had a 2.76 ERA across 14 outings in Double-A before earning a promotion to Triple-A Buffalo. Fisher is a reliever through and through, but he strikes out a ton of batters. He sported a 14.3 K/9 in 16.1 outings for New Hampshire before his promotion. Walks are an issue for him, but he's lowered his BB/9 from 7.7 in the Dodgers organization down to 3.9.

Assuming Biggio doesn't stick around in the Dodgers organization, this is looking like another trade "win" by the Blue Jays' front office.