The Jays’ Cavan Biggio is warming up to the hot corner, even as others get time there

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This article was published 21/04/2021 (1665 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An upgrade at third base was never going to be as straightforward as an internal shift for the Blue Jays.

The Toronto brass has made it clear since spring training in 2020 that the chances of seeing Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at third full-time are slim. They went the external route to fill the hole at the hot corner in 2020, signing Travis Shaw. This past off-season, as the Jays prioritized upgrades elsewhere, their focus turned inward.

There they found Cavan Biggio, whose on-base percentage and versatility get in him the lineup day after day, and Santiago Espinal, whose defence is earning rave reviews of late. Top prospects Austin Martin and Jordan Groshans offer future potential, rather than immediate options.

Giving Biggio the job made sense, since he has experience at third base. But that didn’t necessarily mean the move would be seamless. Guerrero returned to third base for a late-game spell against Boston this week and had some wondering if the Jays have been all that much better off at the hot corner so far this year.

There’s no doubting the work Biggio, who many project as an effective super utility guy, has put in to make third base his new home. He has focused the majority of his energy on mentally and physically preparing for the role since Jays general manager Ross Akins and manager Charlie Montoyo told him this off-season it was where he would be logging most of his playing time. But the 26-year-old, who has been managing a bruised finger since spring training — he has been hit in the hand on three separate occasions — has been in tough at his new position, with four errors in the field in his first 15 games in 2021 compared to five errors in each of the past two seasons. Some question if he is up for the task defensively.

That’s not the case with Espinal, who has been primarily a middle infielder in the minors. He has a big fan in Biggio.

“I think what he brings defensively is pretty special and I think that he could be one of the top defensive guys in the game at any of those three infield positions,” Biggio said Wednesday. “His hands are that special and his rhythm and his timing and just his clock in his head with runners is naturally just pretty special … I’m happy to see that it’s translating in the big leagues.”

The sample size is small for Espinal this season, just four games heading into play Wednesday, but it has been easy for Montoyo to call him up from the alternate site and start him at third base when needed.

“If he doesn’t play for a week, you can put him in there and he looks like he can play every day … that’s how good he is,” Montoyo said. “He can be a really good utility player in the big leagues but we still think he can play every day.”

It’s for that reason that Espinal, a victim of the end-of-the-roster crunch until this week with the Jays largely prioritizing carrying an extra bullpen so far, is unlikely to stay with the big-league team long term.

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“Whenever it’s time for him to get at-bats, he’s going to get at-bats, because he may have a chance to be an everyday player some day in the big leagues,” Montoyo said.

The Jays will stick with Biggio at third in the short term, and the good news is he is feeling “way more comfortable” in the role than he did while playing 10 games there last year.

“Last year was kind of an instance where Charlie asked me if I could do it and step in and I kind of just did the best I (could) with my past experiences there,” he said. “But this spring training I had a lot of work there and I feel like I’m able to play that position more aggressively and that’s really important, especially on balls in and to your right.”

And Guerrero will always be happy to hop in at the hot corner, if Biggio ever needs a break.

“He loves to compete,” Montoyo said. “Of course he wants to show that he can play well.”