Former Dodgers Infielder Heads to NL East Team, His Fourth This Season

Maren Angus-Coombs | Sep 8, 2024

Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Cavan Biggio is on the move again.

On Saturday evening, it was confirmed that Biggio was traded from the San Francisco Giants to the Atlanta Braves for cash considerations.

Giants trade IF/OF Cavan Biggio to the Braves in exchange for cash considerations.

— Jessica Kleinschmidt (@KleinschmidtJD) September 8, 2024

Because the former Los Angeles Dodger was on a minor league contract, he was eligible to be traded after the July 30 trade deadline without needing to go through waivers first.

However, he was acquired after Sept. 1, which means he is not eligible to be on the Braves' postseason roster. The Braves can petition, but there are no signs they plan to do that so far.

Atlanta has faced numerous injuries with their roster this year, leading them to get creative by bringing in players like outfielder Ramon Laureano, reliever John Brebbia, and infielders Whit Merrifield and Gio Urshela.

Now, Biggio appears to be the injury replacement for another player. It was revealed on Saturday that Merrifield suffered a left foot fracture after fouling a ball off his foot on Friday. While the team hopes he can return by next weekend, injuries in the infield have forced them to rely on less stable options like Luke Williams and Eli White at second base while Merrifield and Ozzie Albies are sidelined.

The 29-year-old, who is the son of Baseball Hall of Fame infielder Craig Biggio, was a fifth-round pick by the Blue Jays in 2016 and made his major league debut in 2019. Once seen as part of Toronto's young core, made up of second-generation big leaguers, he got off to a great start. During his rookie year, he hit .234/.364/.429 (115 wRC+) in 100 games as the team's regular second baseman, finishing fifth in Rookie of the Year voting — ahead of teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Biggio has struggled to find consistent success since his rookie season, ultimately forcing Toronto to designate him for assignment in June.

Biggio was traded to the Dodgers soon after but had a tough time there too, batting .192/.306/.329 in 88 plate appearances over 30 games before being released in August. Biggio then signed a minor league deal with the Giants, but he never made it to the majors with them. He only played 12 games for their Triple-A team in Sacramento before Saturday's trade.

The infielder is now with his fourth organization this season but it isn't likely that he appears with Atlanta much. He’ll need to be added to both the 40-man and active rosters before he can play but Atlanta’s 40-man roster is already full so they’ll need to make a corresponding move if they decide to add Biggio.