Blue Jays activate Corey Dickerson, place Cavan Biggio on IL

The Blue Jays have activated Corey Dickerson from the 10-day IL, per a team announcement. He will swap places with Cavan Biggio, who is going on the 10-day IL with “mid-back tightness.”

This will be Dickerson’s first action for the Jays, having been acquired from the Marlins in a trade while on the injured list. He went on the IL June 15th with a foot contusion and was then traded to the Jays two weeks later, alongside reliever Adam Cimber. He will now join a crowded outfield/DH mix alongside George Springer, Teoscar Hernandez, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Randal Grichuk. Dickerson is the only lefty of the bunch, which could give him something of an edge in terms of getting playing time. He doesn’t have a noticeable platoon split this season (wRC+ of 92 vs. lefties and 98 vs. righties) but it shows up more in his career numbers (wRC+ of 122 and 89). Grichuk and Gurriel seem the likeliest candidates to lose playing time, with each hitting below the league average on the season. Grichuk’s wRC+ is 96 on the year and Gurriel’s is 89. But neither has a jarring platoon split in their career numbers.

For Biggio, this is the second time he’ll head to the IL this year with a back issue. On May 22nd, he was sidelined with a “cervical spine ligament sprain” and missed about three weeks. It’s possible this lingering injury is contributing to his mediocre season at the plate. His wRC+ of 83 is a steep drop-off from his 114 and 124 in 2019 and 2020. In his absence, the club will likely turn to a combination of Santiago Espinal and Breyvic Valera at third base