The Toronto Blue Jays received some bad news on Tuesday, as Cavan Biggio hit the injured list with a lingering back issue.
Biggio hasn’t looked like himself for most of the 2021 season.
He broke into the league in 2019, and between 2019 and 2020, he appeared in 159 games.
That’s essentially one full season’s worth of games.
In that time, he batted .240 with a .798 OPS and 117 OPS+.
He homered 24 times, doubled 33 times, and tripled twice.
Those were some very encouraging numbers for the youngster.
This season has been a different story.
He is batting just .215 with an OPS of .666 and an OPS+ of 83.
With any luck, the IL stint will give him some time to reset and return with a bang.
In the meantime, the Jays are going to have to figure out a way to replace his lost production.
The question is: how?
The Blue Jays Can Replace Biggio’s Spot In The Lineup By Getting Crafty With What They Already Have
For anyone wondering how the Blue Jays were going to replace Biggio’s spot in the lineup, the team essentially answered that question on Tuesday night.
Conveniently, Corey Dickerson was activated from the IL just as Biggio was added to it.
ROSTER MOVES:
🔹 INF Cavan Biggio (mid-back tightness) placed on 10-day IL
🔹 OF Corey Dickerson reinstated from 10-day IL and will be active tonight pic.twitter.com/l8N5NyaOiz
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 3, 2021
That allowed Dickerson to slide into the designated hitter spot, and Breyvic Valera took Biggio’s spot defensively.
Toronto should be able to do some variation of this until Biggio comes back.
Adding Dickerson to the mix helps a lot.
He has a lot to prove this season, but as recently as 2019, he looked like an All-Star-caliber player.
The former eighth-round pick batted .304 with a .906 OPS in 2019.
He has struggled ever since, but the 32-year-old should have plenty left in the tank.
He could end up being a key contributor for Toronto as the team looks to sneak into the postseason.
Checking In On The Blue Jays’ Playoff Hopes
Toronto surprised a lot of folks by adding a lot of talent at the trade deadline.
For a team with a very bright several years ahead, it was surprising to see the Jays trade away young talent in exchange for players who are only under team control through 2021 or 2022.
Regardless, there is no denying that Toronto made the additions necessary to give the team a shot at cracking the 2021 postseason.
Right now, the Blue Jays are dealing with a three-game deficit in the American League Wild Card race.
Blue Jays are 54-48 and must win exactly 60% of their remaining games to get to 90-72, which is a very unofficial playoff threshold but seems to be about what will be needed for the second wildcard.
— Scott MacArthur 🏳️🌈 (@ScottyMacThinks) August 1, 2021
There are two teams in front of Toronto (the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees) who are also chasing the Oakland Athletics for that all-important final playoff spot.
Things might get tougher for the Blue Jays from here on out.
They have the 10th-hardest remaining schedule in the league, and if they don’t keep up with the grueling slate, they could see their playoff hopes end sooner than expected.
That said, Toronto will have some head-to-head opportunities to make up ground in the race.
That’s one area where the team is going to have to do some serious damage.
Time will tell how the playoff race unfolds.
NEXT: Grading Toronto Blue Jays’ Trade For Jose Berrios