The Kansas City Royals announced Sunday they have signed free agent utility player Cavan Biggio, a former top prospect and the son of Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, to a minor league contract. Cavan Biggio spent the first five seasons of his major league career with the Toronto Blue Jays before he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers last June. After appearing in 30 games with the eventual World Series champion Dodgers, Biggio finished the season with the Atlanta Braves.

More news: Dodgers’ Target Date for Shohei Ohtani’s Pitching Debut Revealed: Report In six seasons, Biggio owns a career .225/.341/.379 slash line and has seen time at six different positions. Biggio, 29, was removed from the Braves’ 40-man roster on Nov. 1, 2024, and chose free agency instead of being sent outright to the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers. Now, he joins a Kansas City team that won’t need him much at shortstop – star Bobby Witt Jr. has a guaranteed contract through 2034 – but got only 4 WAR combined from its other starting infielders in 2024: first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, second baseman Michael Massey, and third baseman Maikel Garcia.

More news: Orioles Sign Free Agent All-Star to $15 Million Contract Biggio has seen his stock tumble since he finished fifth in AL Rookie of the Year voting with the Blue Jays in 2019. That year, he slashed .234/.364/.429 with 16 home runs and 14 stolen bases in 14 attempts. Since then, Biggio has slashed only .223/.334/.364, with 35 home runs, 138 RBIs and 18 stolen bases in 424 games. Last season with the Jays, Dodgers and Braves he combined to slash .197/.314/.303 with five home runs, 19 RBIs and almost twice as many strikeouts (72) as hits (37).

What Biggio lacks at the plate, he makes up for with outstanding defense at multiple positions. The Royals used Adam Frazier in a similar role last season, but the 33-year-old veteran is now a free agent after slashing .202/.282/.294 in 104 games in 2014.