The prodigal practical joker/strike thrower Joe Biagini returns.

March 11, 2022

Game on —162 in all, Jays add a pair

By Andrew Hendriks

Canadian Baseball Network

On a day that saw the Major League Players Association and club owners formally end a 99-day lockout by coming to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement, the Toronto Blue Jays came to terms with a couple of free agents themselves.

The Blue Jays formally agreed to minor-league pacts with RHP Joe Biagini and 1B Greg Bird.

Biagini, 31, has appeared in parts of six seasons dating back to his rookie campaign in 2016 with the Blue Jays. Through 222 appearances, the 6-foot-5 product of Menlo Park, Calif. has posted an ERA of 5.03 with 278 strikeouts against 116 walks in 331 1/3 innings.

The former Rule V draft pick recorded his strongest season in 2016, registering a WHIP of 1.300 while allowing three home runs in 67 2/3 innings with the Blue Jays. He has since pitched with the Houston Astros (2019, 2020) and Chicago Cubs (2021).

Breaking in with the New York Yankees in 2015, Bird, 29, has slashed a combined .211/.301/.424 with 65 extra-base hits across 700 plate appearances at the big-league level.

In 2021, the former fifth-round draft pick (2011) posted an OPS of .894 with a single-season career-high 27 home runs in 112 games with Colorado’s triple-A affiliate.

The Blue Jays will kick off their Grapefruit League slate with a 1:05 game against the Boston Red Sox on March 18. As of Thursday, the club has 10 spring games scheduled prior to getting the 2022 regular season underway against the Texas Rangers on April 7.

- Follow Andrew Hendriks on Twitter (@77hendriks)