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Blue Jays: Yohendrick Piñango is once again the odd man out when Addison Barger returns
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Photo credit: © John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Zac Phillips
Jun 2, 2026, 10:30 EDTUpdated: Jun 2, 2026, 10:05 EDT
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When Addison Barger unleashed a 101.2 m.p.h. cannon from right field in his return off the injured-list on May 9, the Toronto Blue Jays outfield seemed to be blown right back into shape.
But just as quickly as the ball flew out of Barger’s hand, he was placed back onto the injured list with right-elbow inflammation and the front office was left scrambling to recall Yohendrick Piñango after optioning him 48 hours prior.
Flash forward to the end of May and Barger’s stint on the IL is winding to a close with manager John Schneider announcing he has resumed throwing once again. As the 26-year-old begins to work his way back to the lineup once again, the picture in the outfield is even murkier.
Piñango slugged his way into more playing time (.780 OPS in 90 plate appearance) and as Nathan Lukes returned from his hamstring injury on May 25, fan-favourite Davis Schneider (.507 OPS in 89 PA) was sent down to Triple-A after struggling to find consistent results in limited trips to the plate.
For Piñango to survive another outfielders’ return, the Blue Jays would need to part ways with either Jesús Sánchez, Myles Straw or send Lukes to Buffalo.
Though Lukes has one option year remaining, he stood in for 438 plate appearances and manned the outfield for 909.1 innings in 2025 with above-average results posting a 103 wRC+ and 10 Defensive Runs Saved. The club’s propensity to slot him right back into the second spot in the batting order indicates they view him as a key contributor once again in 2026.
Given Straw’s major-league track record and his ability to patrol all three spots in the outfield soundly, it seems unlikely the Blue Jays cut ties with the 31-year-old despite a .661 OPS in 99 PA that’s on par with his career norm.
While Sánchez may have seemed the most likely to take a hit, he is also beginning to put together a solid sample size of positive results, posting a 1.073 OPS in 58 PA since Barger’s injury. Not to mention the Blue Jays traded Joey Loperfido to acquire him from the Houston Astros less than four months ago.
The left-handed log jam in the outfield that Piñango is fighting against (Daulton Varsho, Barger, Lukes and Sánchez) and the fact he is a 24-year-old with options to play with point to the fact he could be the odd man out once again.
Despite the pop his bat provides in the lineup or off the bench, his overall development still needs to be considered. His outfield defence is barely serviceable and could use everyday reps in a lower stakes environment. Add on the fact the designated hitter role is occupied by George Springer, who is yet to start a game in the outfield this season, Piñango’s at-bats will start to become heavily squeezed out.
While Barger can play third base and logged more than half of his innings there in 2025, key off-season addition Kazuma Okamoto has grabbed a hold of that position with one hand and has 12 home runs in the other – the corner spots are arguably just as jammed as the outfield.
As we saw with the starting rotation to begin the season, roster crunches of this nature tend to work themselves out naturally and rather quickly, as random balls flying from the crowd can even have an impact just as we saw in Baltimore on Sunday.
But if everyone manages to stay healthy the Blue Jays will once again be forced into a tough decision with a blossoming young bat.
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