It’s been one injury after another for Blue Jays infielder Cavan Biggio this season

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This article was published 25/08/2021 (1521 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He would rather be contributing to the Blue Jays’ playoff push, but health will have to be Cavan Biggio’s priority as a largely lost season for the utility player nears a close.

Biggio, 26, was on a rehab assignment for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons last Friday when he got hurt diving for a ball in the outfield. The Jays announced Wednesday that Biggio will not hit for at least a week after suffering a Grade 1 ulnar collateral sprain in his left elbow.

Toronto will see how Biggio feels after his week off and go from there, but the window is quickly closing on a return to the big leagues in 2021. Biggio would not only need to recover from the sprain but get going enough offensively to contribute to a playoff chase or a post-season run.

“Get healthy first and then get him the confidence and give him enough at bats that, when he comes back to the big leagues, he’s good to go,” manager Charlie Montoyo said Tuesday when asked what the club’s priorities will be when it comes to Biggio the rest of the season.

Getting Biggio going offensively was what the Jays were trying to accomplish when they sent Biggio on his rehab assignment with Buffalo, following a stint on the injured list earlier this month because of mid-back tightness. It hadn’t worked through seven games for the Bisons. Biggio was 3-for-22 before getting hurt again.

He has landed on the injured list twice this year, because of a neck sprain in late May and back tightness Aug. 3. The neck sprain was a nagging issue he played through for some time. He also dealt with a few banged-up fingers early in the season, which cost him a few games but didn’t sideline him long term.

Playing hurt is something Montoyo has given Biggio credit for throughout the season, even as he posted a .215/.316/.350 slash line and a .666 OPS, lows in his still young career. Not many players do that, Montoyo said Tuesday, but Biggio wanted to play daily.

“Probably his numbers aren’t looking as good, just because he was playing hurt the whole time,” Montoyo said. “You do appreciate guys like that. He was never healthy but he found a way to be in a lineup every day.”

But that desire to play took a toll, and now Biggio is out for who knows how long.

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In the meantime, the Jays will rely on Santiago Espinal and Kevin Smith to man his one-time spot at third base.

Montoyo has been impressed by Smith’s hand at the hot corner since he was promoted to the big club, and the 25-year-old’s versatility — he played at second base, shortstop, third base and in the outfield in the minors — is attractive to the club, even if it’s a big ask for a such a new big-leaguer to play a significant role when a team is fight for its playoff life in September.

That’s where Espinal comes in as the security blanket the team didn’t know it would need coming into the season. The 26-year-old has logged more games at third base than any other Jay this season and has impressed with his steady defence and some timely hits.

“He’s been one of the best third basemen in baseball when it comes to saving runs,” Montoyo said. “He’s having great at-bats; it doesn’t matter who is pitching … I couldn’t have predicted that. He’s a pretty good player.”

Laura Armstrong is a Star sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @lauraarmy