BRAVES ACQUIRE HALL OF FAMER'S SON FROM GIANTS
The Braves have acquired infielder Cavan Biggio from the Giants, as noted by Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, the Giants are receiving cash considerations in return for Biggio’s services. Biggio is on a minor league deal and as such was eligible to be traded despite the trade deadline having passed. As he was acquired after the calendar flipped to September, Biggio will not be eligible to participate in the postseason with the Braves.
Biggio, 29, was a fifth-round pick by the Blue Jays back in 2016 who made his big league debut in 2019. Once seen as part of a budding core of youngsters in Toronto who were the children of former big leaguers, Biggio’s career got off to a strong start as he batted .234/.364/.429 (115 wRC+) in 100 games during his rookie season. He was the club’s regular second baseman and earned fifth place in Rookie of the Year voting, finishing ahead of then-teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The good times continued for Biggio during the shortened 2020 season, as he appeared in 59 of the club’s 60 games and posted a career-best 122 wRC+.
Unfortunately, that’s the last time Biggio has found success in the majors as a regular player. Biggio’s offense cratered over the next two years as he slashed just .213/.320/.353 (91 wRC+) in a combined 597 trips to the plate. While he drew walks at an impressive 12.6 percent clip during that time, his strikeout rate crept up to 27.3 percent and the power he had flashed during the first two seasons of his career, when he combined for 24 homers in just 695 trips to the plate, cratered as he slugged just 13 between the 2021 and 2022 seasons combined. Late in the 2022 season, Biggio even found himself optioned to the minor leagues as Santiago Espinal took over the everyday second base job.
Things turned around slightly for Biggio last season, as he posted his first above-average offensive campaign in a full season since his rookie year. Although he was limited to just 338 trips to the plate as he served as a part-time player for the club, Biggio hit a decent .235/.340/.370 (102 wRC+) in 111 games while splitting time between first base, second base, third base and right field. While Biggio found success in that utility role last year, that didn’t last as he entered his age-29 season. In 44 games with Toronto this year, Biggio hit a paltry .200/.323/.291 as his strikeout rate soared to 32.1 percent, going over 30 percent for the first time in his career as a big leaguer.
The Blue Jays had evidently seen enough by the time early June rolled around and opted to designate him for assignment. He was traded to the Dodgers shortly thereafter but struggled with his new club as well, hitting a similar .192/.306/.329 in 88 trips to the plate across 30 games before they released him back in August. Biggio eventually found his way to the Giants on a minor league deal, though he did not appear at the big league level with the club before Saturday's swap and appeared in just 12 games for their Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento.
That’s led Biggio to his fourth organization of the 2024 campaign, where he becomes the latest player who was released earlier this year to be brought in as an injury replacement by the Braves. Atlanta has dealt with a number of injuries this year all throughout their roster, and as such have gotten creative by bringing in the castoffs of other teams such as outfielder Ramon Laureano, reliever John Brebbia as well as infielders Whit Merrifield and Gio Urshela. Now, Biggio is seemingly being brought in as the injury replacement for an injury replacement. It was revealed earlier today that Merrifield sustained a left foot fracture after fouling a ball off his foot last night, and while the club reportedly hopes that he’ll be able to return to action as soon as next weekend, injuries around their infield have left them to rely on questionable options like Luke Williams and Eli White to handle the keystone while he and Ozzie Albies are sidelined.
For all of Biggio’s struggles with the Blue Jays and Dodgers earlier this year, even that lackluster production would be a substantial upgrade for either Williams or White given that the pair have career wRC+ figures of 56 and 58 respectively in the big leagues. While Biggio has struck out at a clip that isn’t befitting of a regular role this year, particularly given his lack of power, his penchant for drawing walks gives him a solid floor of offensive production. He’s never walked less than 11 percent of the time in a season and sports a 13.6 percent walk rate for his career, good for 13th best in the majors since the start of his career.
Though Biggio won’t be able to participate in the postseason with Atlanta, it seems as though both Merrfield and Albies are expected to return before then, meaning there’s little downside to giving Biggio a bit of runway down the stretch while the club’s preferred options at the keystone are injured. Of course, as Biggio is currently on a minor league contract, he’ll need to be added to the club’s 40-man and active rosters before he can play for the club. Atlanta’s 40-man roster is full, so a corresponding move will be necessary if the club decides to add Biggio to its roster.
More must-reads:
- Braves roster core knocked off ESPN’s top spot after two years
- Alex Anthopoulos did it again with this Braves trade
- The 'Atlanta Braves to hit 40 or more home runs in a season' quiz
Trending slideshow: The 25 best MLB teams from the 2000s (Provided by Yardbarker)