Dodgers Designate Infielder for Assignment As Freddie Freeman Returns

Maren Angus-Coombs | Aug 5, 2024

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Dodgers designated infielder Cavan Biggio for assignment to make room for first baseman Freddie Freeman, who is being activated from the family emergency list.

Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic confirmed the news with a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday afternoon.

Cavan Biggio was designated for assignment with Freddie Freeman’s return.

— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) August 5, 2024

Biggio filled in as the team's primary first baseman while Freeman was tending to his youngest son, Maximus, who had been hospitalized since July 26. Freeman left the team while the Dodgers were in Houston for a three-game series against the Astros.

Freeman was away for 10 days returning to the lineup on Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Biggio, the son of Baseball Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, was just acquired by the Dodgers in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays on June 12. He slashed .192/.306/.329 and saw time at four positions during his 30-game stint in Los Angeles.

The 29-year-old Biggio had spent his entire career with the Blue Jays before the Dodgers acquired him, He was a fifth-round pick out of the University of Notre Dame in the 2016 draft.

The move seemed inevitable for Biggio who has struggled to find consistency in the big leagues. He was DFA’d by the Blue Jays just before being traded to the Dodgers and his career batting average has dropped to .225.

Freddie Freeman is expected to return to the Dodgers lineup tonight vs the Phillies after missing the last 8 games (H/T @jonmorosi)

Prayers up to the Freeman family as Freddie’s son, Maximus, is now home & recovering after 8 days in the ICU 🙏 pic.twitter.com/L0IG0v8Vhp

— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) August 5, 2024

Los Angeles is also expecting to get infielder Miguel Rojas back from the IL, which affects Biggio's playing time directly.

In addition, the Dodgers acquired utility man Tommy Edman from the St. Louis Cardinals in a surprising trade deadline move. He is expected to return from the IL at some point in August and will be joined by Mookie Betts and Max Muncy, hopefully.

The Dodgers have several roster moves to make with all the injured players returning from the IL. Biggio was just the first domino to fall as the roster begins to take shape ahead of the playoffs.

Biggio hit three home runs and drove in 10 as a Dodger. He hit two home runs and drove in nine in 44 games with Toronto before the Blue Jays designated him for assignment.

As the son of a Hall of Famer, Biggio faced high expectations. He appeared to live up to them early in his career when he finished fifth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting in 2019. He hit 16 homers and drove in 48 runs as the primary second baseman on a young Blue Jays squad then but hasn't come close to producing those types of numbers since.

The closest he has been to his rookie campaign was last season, when he hit nine homers and drove in 40 runs. He batted .235 across 111 games.