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Addison Barger’s injury-plagued season left a hole in the Blue Jays’ lineup in 2026

Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

By Michael Coyle

Oct 22, 2026, 14:18 EDT

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After a magical run to the World Series in 2025, the Toronto Blue Jays’ offence just didn’t pull its weight in 2026.

A large part of that falls on underperformance from a couple of key bats, but losing Addison Barger for almost the entire duration of the 2026 campaign left a sizeable hole in the Blue Jays’ lineup.

How the year went

After breaking out in 2025, when Barger hit .243 with 21 home runs and 74 RBIs, a year that also included three more home runs in the postseason, he was expected to assume his spot in the middle of the Blue Jays’ batting order to begin the 2026 campaign.

Over his first six starts, Barger hit no lower than fourth in the Blue Jays’ lineup, as manager John Schneider used the 26-year-old as protection for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Barger got off to a slow start, going 1-for-19 with two RBIs before injuries started to rear their ugly head.

On April 5, during a 3-0 loss against the Chicago White Sox, Barger suffered an ankle injury after landing awkwardly while trying to beat out an infield single. Two days later, Barger was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left ankle sprain.

After getting into three rehab games with Dunedin in early May, Barger was activated from the 10-day IL on May 9 and inserted into the lineup batting third as the Blue Jays found themselves at 17-21.

In his return, Barger went 0-for-3 with two walks and a run scored during a 14-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels, but it was his arm strength that stole the show during the win. With runners on first and third with one out, Vaughn Grissom lifted a fly ball to right field off Trey Yesavage that looked like it would bring home Jorge Soler from third to open the scoring.

Barger had other ideas, as he got behind the ball and unleashed a 101.2 MPH cannon on one hop to Brandon Valenzuela to nail Soler at home and keep the game scoreless. The throw was one of the best of the season, but ultimately played a factor in the rest of his season.

After originally being in the lineup the following day, Barger was scratched with right elbow soreness, an ailment that forced him to the 10-day IL a day later. From there, it went really quiet until June, when Schneider told the media that Barger was held out of a rehab stint due to a stress reaction in his back.

On July 24, just under a month after Schneider’s announcement, it was reported that Barger would undergo season-ending elbow surgery on Monday, July 27. Barger finished the 2026 season by appearing in nine games and batting .045 with two RBIs, while also drawing five walks.

With a six-to-nine-month recovery timeline, the goal for Barger is to be ready when spring training opens in February with the goal of putting this lost season behind him.

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