For a non-Toronto Blue Jays fan looking at the team from an outsider’s perspective, it’s probably a head-scratcher as to why Addison Barger isn’t one, in the lineup more often, and two, doesn’t have better stats when he is playing.

It’s honestly perplexing. From the moment he was drafted out of C. Leon King High School, Barger has had the physical tools to succeed even in the major leagues. This was on point when he showed up in Spring Training a few years back and had an imposing figure that rivalled any amateur bodybuilder.

A look at his Baseball Savant page confirms this; his arm is in the 99th percentile of all major leaguers (2024), while his bat speed is right around the 75th percentile. He can hit the triple digits with his throws from the outfield and already has a three-outfield-assist game under his belt this year.

The stats show off the 6’0, 210-pound, 25-year-old’s raw strength, yet the third baseman and outfielder’s results have been streaky at best. Fortunately for the Jays, he’s on the good side of one of those streaks lately. He has four hits in his last two games, and even when he doesn’t come up with a hit, his at-bat outcomes have trended positively.

This has forced manager John Schneider’s hand to give Barger more play time in the coming days, even with reduced space in the outfield due to the return of Daulton Varsho from the IL.

Barger will be taking more reps at third base in what appears to be a platoon with Ernie Clement. It makes sense for the team to try anything to produce more offence, as they’ve found themselves 2-8 through their last ten games. The lack of offence has gotten so bad that the Boston Red Sox had more home runs than the Jays had hits on Tuesday (5 HR vs 4 hits).

How much a platoon will help with that situation remains to be seen. While Barger’s bat will appreciate avoiding left-handed pitching (.162 career average against), Clement has career reverse splits, hitting right-handers ever so slightly better than lefties (.247 vs .245 average).

It may be time for the Jays to give Barger consistent big league hacks instead of constant trips between Toronto and Buffalo. While he played 69 games for the Jays in 2024, they were split apart by 57 games in the minors.

Two of his biggest weaknesses throughout his time in MLB have been his defence at third (.925 Fld% in 2024) and his bat-to-ball skills, especially on breaking balls. He whiffed (swung and missed on a pitch in the strike zone) on 35.3% of all breaking balls he faced in 2024, and that number is already at 40% early this year.

While the fielding issue will have to continue to be solved on the practice field, more reps at third base instead of splitting them with the outfield may help. The breaking ball issue, however, might only improve with consistent time in the majors.

Having to face top-tier breaking pitches more consistently may allow Barger to make the right changes. As mentioned, all of the physical tools are already there. If he Barger can cash in on them, he has the potential to be a solid player for years to come — something that the Jays would certainly appreciate about now.

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