The Toronto Blue Jays expected Addison Barger to build on his breakout 2025 season and become a regular part of their lineup in 2026. Instead, injuries have kept that from happening.
Barger has played just nine games this season, with a left ankle sprain first sidelining him in April before a second setback followed almost immediately after his return. Toronto placed him back on the injured list on May 11 with right elbow inflammation after he felt soreness following his first game back from the ankle injury.
At the time, the Blue Jays said imaging showed inflammation but no structural damage, and Barger received a cortisone shot while the club hoped the absence would be short-term.
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However, that has not been the case. Barger’s 2026 line remains frozen at just nine appearances, and the latest update from manager John Schneider was another discouraging one.
On Wednesday, Schneider said Barger will fly to Toronto to be examined by the Blue Jays’ medical staff before beginning any rehab assignment. He also confirmed that Barger’s throwing has progressed fine, but soreness has continued to resurface while hitting, which has prevented the club from clearing him for game action (via MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson).
The Blue Jays have been waiting for him to reach the rehab-assignment stage for weeks, and this latest pause is another sign that his recovery is not moving as quickly as hoped.
It is a frustrating development for both player and team because Barger looked poised for a larger role this year after his 2025 campaign. He entered this season projected as a key left-handed bat after batting .243 with 21 home runs, 74 RBIs and a .756 OPS in 2025.
However, the Blue Jays have had to keep patching together those at-bats with Nathan Lukes and Yohendrick Piñango and other outfield depth pieces. The club continues to wait on his elbow to calm down enough for a full return to baseball activity. But Schneider’s update likely pushes back any realistic rehab timeline and makes an early return to the major league roster less certain.
