<img alt="Los Angeles Dodgers v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vkIXTaiWISc7PTVE1_Z-uLijO9E=/0x0:7075x4717/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73715506/2171260090.0.jpg">
Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images
Picked up in a rare post-Trade Deadline move, Biggio was one of the many emergency infield depth options Atlanta used in September. Cavan Biggio began the 2024 season as the starting second baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays, but by the time mid-September rolled around, he was with his fourth organization of the season, as the infielder-desperate Atlanta Braves picked him up.
How acquired
Atlanta made a rare post-Trade Deadline trade on September 7 to get Biggio from the San Francisco Giants. The deal was possible in this brave new world of “no post-Deadline trades” because Biggio was on a minor league deal with the Giants. Although Biggio was not eligible to be added to Atlanta’s postseason roster, his acquisition provided another depth option with Ozzie Albies still nursing a wrist fracture and one of his replacements, Whit Merrifield, suffering from a fractured foot.
What were the expectations?
With the Braves, Biggio was a real, live human second baseman who had meaningful experience playing various infield positions. The situation was that dire for Atlanta. Although Merrifield was able to return and gut out starting games until Albies returned, at the time Biggio was brought into the organization, he was looked at as a possible option to start until Albies returned — if he could return — during the season’s final weeks.
Biggio had an exciting debut season in 2019, posting 2.6 fWAR in 430 PAs with an above-average batting line and fine defense at multiple positions (though he mostly played second base). Since that point, though, he was pretty inconsistent, with his batting inputs flitting between average and bad, and his defense slipping as well. He was Toronto’s starting second baseman coming out of Spring Training, but became more of a part-timer after a month, and was designated for assignment in early June. He honestly wasn’t horrible with the Jays, with an 86 wRC+ and 0.5 fWAR in 131 PAs, but they had apparently seen enough. The Dodgers acquired him in a trade and played him sporadically, mostly at third base, where his defense faltered in a small sample. In another 88 PAs with Los Angeles, he had an identical 86 wRC+, but -0.2 fWAR due to horrible defense. After another DFA and then a subsequent release, the Giants signed Biggio, but didn’t use him in the majors. They ended up trading him to the Braves, who were desperate for infield options at the time.
So, what was there to expect from a guy with a below-average batting line and inconsistent defense that had already been with three teams? Not much.
2024 results
Biggio appeared in four games and got five PAs as a Brave — he notched a single, had two strikeouts, and made two outs in the field. He finished his Braves tenure with -0.1 fWAR, and his season overall with an 84 wRC+ and 0.1 fWAR. It’s worth noting, though, that said wRC+ was the result of a substantial xwOBA outperformance.
What went right?
This was almost certainly not the season Biggio wanted, but the fact that he was passed around four organizations suggests that his defensive versatility, speed, and plate discipline are at least somewhat attractive to teams, even if it’s in a 26th man capacity.
What went wrong?
Offensively, things were disastrous, and we’re not talking about his five PAs as a Brave here. It was his worst season offensively on both an inputs and outputs basis, and his contact quality was generally horrendous. He also posted the worst walk and strikeout rate of his career, which is a huge problem given said contact quality, and explains his .259 xwOBA.
He also failed to rebound from a poor defensive year in 2023, and at this point, looks “versatile” more because he can be played at a variety of positions, rather than due to any specific proficiency in the field.
The Braves gave Biggio one start, and it was real bad. His Braves debut started with a strikeout looking on three pitches, and then he had a pop-out to short and a very weak flyout to left. Not exactly what you want to showcase in your first shot with a new team, but also well within the realm of expectations given the way his season had gone.
2025 outlook
The Braves sent Biggio to finish out the year in Gwinnett with about ten days left in the season. He opted for minor league free agency earlier this month, and will probably join the legions of utility infielder types hoping to snag a roster spot through a Spring Training invitation somewhere. The problem for Biggio is that he just doesn’t look like he offers much either offensively or defensively at this point — while there probably aren’t enough better players out there to deny him an MLB roster spot somewhere in 2025, he’s probably more the guy the Braves acquired late in the year (a warm body for in-case-of-emergency purposes) than what he was thought to be before 2024 played out the way it did (a bounceback candidate with some potential upside).
<img alt="Los Angeles Dodgers v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vkIXTaiWISc7PTVE1_Z-uLijO9E=/0x0:7075x4717/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73715506/2171260090.0.jpg">
Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images
Picked up in a rare post-Trade Deadline move, Biggio was one of the many emergency infield depth options Atlanta used in September. Cavan Biggio began the 2024 season as the starting second baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays, but by the time mid-September rolled around, he was with his fourth organization of the season, as the infielder-desperate Atlanta Braves picked him up.
How acquired
Atlanta made a rare post-Trade Deadline trade on September 7 to get Biggio from the San Francisco Giants. The deal was possible in this brave new world of “no post-Deadline trades” because Biggio was on a minor league deal with the Giants. Although Biggio was not eligible to be added to Atlanta’s postseason roster, his acquisition provided another depth option with Ozzie Albies still nursing a wrist fracture and one of his replacements, Whit Merrifield, suffering from a fractured foot.
What were the expectations?
With the Braves, Biggio was a real, live human second baseman who had meaningful experience playing various infield positions. The situation was that dire for Atlanta. Although Merrifield was able to return and gut out starting games until Albies returned, at the time Biggio was brought into the organization, he was looked at as a possible option to start until Albies returned — if he could return — during the season’s final weeks.
Biggio had an exciting debut season in 2019, posting 2.6 fWAR in 430 PAs with an above-average batting line and fine defense at multiple positions (though he mostly played second base). Since that point, though, he was pretty inconsistent, with his batting inputs flitting between average and bad, and his defense slipping as well. He was Toronto’s starting second baseman coming out of Spring Training, but became more of a part-timer after a month, and was designated for assignment in early June. He honestly wasn’t horrible with the Jays, with an 86 wRC+ and 0.5 fWAR in 131 PAs, but they had apparently seen enough. The Dodgers acquired him in a trade and played him sporadically, mostly at third base, where his defense faltered in a small sample. In another 88 PAs with Los Angeles, he had an identical 86 wRC+, but -0.2 fWAR due to horrible defense. After another DFA and then a subsequent release, the Giants signed Biggio, but didn’t use him in the majors. They ended up trading him to the Braves, who were desperate for infield options at the time.
So, what was there to expect from a guy with a below-average batting line and inconsistent defense that had already been with three teams? Not much.
2024 results
Biggio appeared in four games and got five PAs as a Brave — he notched a single, had two strikeouts, and made two outs in the field. He finished his Braves tenure with -0.1 fWAR, and his season overall with an 84 wRC+ and 0.1 fWAR. It’s worth noting, though, that said wRC+ was the result of a substantial xwOBA outperformance.
What went right?
This was almost certainly not the season Biggio wanted, but the fact that he was passed around four organizations suggests that his defensive versatility, speed, and plate discipline are at least somewhat attractive to teams, even if it’s in a 26th man capacity.
What went wrong?
Offensively, things were disastrous, and we’re not talking about his five PAs as a Brave here. It was his worst season offensively on both an inputs and outputs basis, and his contact quality was generally horrendous. He also posted the worst walk and strikeout rate of his career, which is a huge problem given said contact quality, and explains his .259 xwOBA.
He also failed to rebound from a poor defensive year in 2023, and at this point, looks “versatile” more because he can be played at a variety of positions, rather than due to any specific proficiency in the field.
The Braves gave Biggio one start, and it was real bad. His Braves debut started with a strikeout looking on three pitches, and then he had a pop-out to short and a very weak flyout to left. Not exactly what you want to showcase in your first shot with a new team, but also well within the realm of expectations given the way his season had gone.
2025 outlook
The Braves sent Biggio to finish out the year in Gwinnett with about ten days left in the season. He opted for minor league free agency earlier this month, and will probably join the legions of utility infielder types hoping to snag a roster spot through a Spring Training invitation somewhere. The problem for Biggio is that he just doesn’t look like he offers much either offensively or defensively at this point — while there probably aren’t enough better players out there to deny him an MLB roster spot somewhere in 2025, he’s probably more the guy the Braves acquired late in the year (a warm body for in-case-of-emergency purposes) than what he was thought to be before 2024 played out the way it did (a bounceback candidate with some potential upside).
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