The Blue Jays' next wave is a versatile one

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Cavan Biggio’s locker is a little more cluttered than his teammates’. He’s got a few training gloves, two gloves for second base, two for third, a first-base glove, some outfield gloves and more on the way.

Not that long ago, Biggio would be the outlier on the roster. Today he’s the norm, embodying the emphasis on positional versatility that’s swept baseball and been embraced by the Blue Jays from player development to the Major Leagues.

Biggio comes by this naturally, too.

Growing up in the Astros' clubhouse where his father, Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, played for 20 seasons, Cavan Biggio loved to grab a glove and shag fly balls in batting practice. Then, he’d go to his own games and play shortstop. By high school, he was at second base, and by the time he got to Notre Dame, he was a second baseman.

“It was something I’ve always been interested in, and it was the way I’ve grown up in this game,” Biggio said. "My dad came up as a catcher, went to second, won a couple of Gold Gloves and then was asked to go play the outfield. He did it at the highest level for so long, and that’s been the mentality for me.”

When you see firsthand how this can benefit a Major League player, it’s easier to wrap your head around the value of positional versatility. Put simply, being a “utility man” no longer makes you a light-hitting backup. It allows managers to optimize lineups and, in some cases, gives a young player more paths to the big leagues.

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That’s when this really started to take off for Biggio, back in 2017. Biggio started 113 games at second that season in Class A Advanced, but Gil Kim, now the Blue Jays’ director of player development, approached him about playing more spots on the infield and giving the outfield a shot.

“The reason behind this that he told me at the time was, ‘If you get to Triple-A or Double-A and we want to call you up, and we have a second baseman in the big leagues, it’s going to block you.’ The start of this was to give me more opportunities to move up through the system and, absolutely, I was all for it. “

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Biggio is the model, but he’s not alone. This is how other members of the Blue Jays’ organization view the challenge -- or opportunity -- of playing multiple spots.

The veteran
Joe Panik: “I want to play as long as I can in this game. I know you can’t be pigeonholed into one spot. You have to mentally and physically make yourself available to play any position, because that’s only going to help you. For guys who want to play as long as you can, you have to accept that. Unless you are a perennial Platinum Glove winner, I think you have to be willing to play multiple positions.”

Over six seasons with the Giants, Panik played nearly 100 percent of his innings at second base, where he won a Gold Glove Award in 2016. Panik had played some shortstop coming up through the Minor Leagues from '10-14, but now, at age 30, he’s embracing the ability to play shortstop once again, along with third base, where he could see some time in '21.

The top prospect
Austin Martin: “[Biggio] asked me, ‘Where do you want to play?’ I told him, 'I’m a ballplayer. Just put me on the field. Put me in the lineup and put me in the field.' We share that similar mindset. He just encouraged me to work on that and stay on that path of staying versatile. He understands how his role on the team has helped because he’s able to bounce around those positions.”

Martin, the No. 5 overall pick from the 2020 MLB Draft, calls versatility “part of my identity as a baseball player.” He considers himself a shortstop for now, but he will see time at third base and in center field. If even the most talented young prospects in the system are being cross-trained at several positions, it’s clear that this is an active strategy, not just a club getting a jump on backup plans.

The player on the edge of the roster
Santiago Espinal: “Panik used to be a second baseman. Now, he plays third, short, second; he can play everywhere. As you can see, that opens up a lot of opportunity, not just for me, but for all the players to play all the positions.”

If Espinal opens the season at the alternate training site -- which is expected -- his versatility will give him several paths to the roster. Espinal played third and short in 2020, but he could play shortstop in a pinch, too. If there’s an injury or a need at any of those positions, the arrow points to Espinal.

The everyday player
Biggio: “You have to be OK with your workload being a little bit more than the guy who’s just playing one position.”

This is what Biggio tells the prospects coming up behind him. Biggio will turn 26 in April, but he’s already a respected “veteran” in that clubhouse. He’s encouraged the club’s prospects to listen to the coaching staff and front office, focusing on the position they have in mind, but also their ideas for other options. Some days, that means doing infield drills then shagging fly balls through batting practice, but it’s worth it. Just as Biggio saw versatility work for players ahead of him, Toronto’s next wave is seeing it work for Biggio.