Blue Jays sign Biagini, Bird and Heineman to minor league deals

Earlier today the Toronto Blue Jays announced that RHP Joe Biagini, INF Greg Bird, and C Tyler Heineman have signed minor league contracts with invites to Major League Spring Training.

Biagini was originally selected by Toronto in the Major League Rule 5 Draft in 2015 and made his Blue Jays debut in the 2016 season. He made 60 regular season relief appearances in his rookie season, as well as six outings in the 2016 Postseason for Toronto. The righty did not allow a run across three different rounds of the playoffs.

The right hander pitched for the Herd in both the 2017 and 2018 seasons, going 1-4 across eight starts for Buffalo. Biagini split last season between Triple-A Iowa and the Chicago Cubs, going 3-8 with a 5.50 ERA in 22 outings for Iowa. He also went 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in three innings for Chicago last year.

Biagini has made a total of 222 Major League appearances, including 22 starts, in six seasons. He appeared in 13 games for the Houston Astros in 2019 after being acquired from Toronto in a trade.

Bird joins the Blue Jays organization after spending the 2021 season with the Albuquerque Isotopes in Triple-A West. He appeared in 112 games for the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies and hit .267 with 27 home runs and 91 RBI with a .532 slugging pct. He was originally drafted by the New York Yankees in the 5th round of the 2011 Draft.

The infielder made his Major League debut in 2015 with the Yankees, playing in 46 games that season for New York. He spent parts of four seasons in the Big Leagues, a total of 186 games, with the Yankees. In 2018, Bird appeared in a career-high 82 games for New York hitting 11 home runs and adding 38 RBI, both season highs.

Bird hit a career 32 homers with 98 RBI with the Yankees. He last appeared in the Big Leagues in 2019. The veteran also played for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in three separate seasons beginning in 2015, where he amassed 38 career home runs and 126 RBI.

Heineman spent the 2021 season in Triple-A, appearing in a total of 41 games between Memphis and Lehigh Valley. He played in 20 games for the IronPigs, including four games against the Bisons last season.

The 30-year-old was originally drafted by the Astros in the 8th round of the 2012 Draft after playing collegiately at UCLA. Heineman made is MLB debut in 2019 with the Miami Marlins. He went on the appear in 15 games for the San Francisco Giants in 2020 as well. The catcher has appeared in a total of 645 career Minor League games over nine professional seasons.