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Blue Jays 2026 40-man Roster Review: Addison Barger is primed for a breakout year
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Photo credit: © Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Jan 26, 2026, 07:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 26, 2026, 04:38 EST
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The Toronto Blue Jays need Addison Barger to break out in a big way in 2026
This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual 40-man roster review ahead of the new season. If you missed the most recent article, we looked at Brendon Little. In this article, we’ll look at Addison Barger.
Having watched Barger since 2022, I wasn’t too surprised to see the third baseman/outfielder breakout in 2025. After his fantastic 2022 season that saw him rise from High-A to Triple-A, he took a step back in 2023, before making his big league debut in 2024.
With the Jays during their 74-88 season in 2024, Barger slashed .197/.250/.351 with seven home runs in 225 plate appearances for a 69 wRC+ and -0.3 fWAR. While that wasn’t a great season for the then 25-year-old, Barger slashed .215/.278/.417 with all seven of those home runs in 158 plate appearances when he was called up around the trade deadline. That was still below average (96 wRC+), but it was a much more encouraging sign.
It’s hard to remember given the whirlwind that was the 2025 season, but Barger didn’t initially make the Blue Jays roster out of Spring Training. On April 15, Barger was called and had a slow start. However, he (and the Blue Jays) turned the season around on a west coast road trip when the Jays visited the Seattle Mariners.
From May 7th until August 10th, Barger slashed .283/.331/.545 with 18 home runs in 321 plate appearances, giving him a 139 wRC+ in this three month stretch. The third baseman/outfielder also had a respectable K% of 25.9% while absolutely smacking the ball. 
Barger cooled off to end the season, slashing just .181/.261/.307 with three home runs over his final 142 plate appearances, finishing the season slashing .243/.301/.454 with 21 home runs in 502 plate appearances for a 107 wRC+ and 2.2 fWAR.
Making his playoff debut in Game 1 of the American League Divisional Series, Barger slashed just .222/.300/.278 with four hits in 20 plate appearances over his first five games. Three of those hits came in the decisive Game 4 of the ALDS, before going hitless in the first two games against the Mariners.
But just like in the regular season, Barger figured it out when the Blue Jays head to Seattle, the area where Barger was born. From Game 3 of the American League Championship Series until Game 7 of the World Series, Barger slashed .429/.500/.714 with three home runs in 48 plate appearances.
The biggest highlight of this was hitting the first ever pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history. Moreover, Barger failed to register a hit in just one of the 12 games in this stretch, and had a two-hit game in all but one of the World Series games he played.
Barger is by no means a perfect player, as he’s prone to whiffing and chasing, but when he connects, he does serious damage. He has some of the quickest bat speed in baseball, and finished the 2025 season with a hard hit percentage of 51%. Barger’s average exit velocity was 91.7 mph, which sat in the 86th percentile in baseball. Add in one of the best arms in baseball (99th percentile arm strength), and there’s superstar potential.
According to Fangraphs’ Steamer, Barger is expected to slash .249/.319/.441 with 17 home runs in 433 plate appearances for a 111 wRC+, with a 23.7 K% and an 8.7 BB%. While those projections aren’t great, it also wouldn’t be a surprise to see the 26-year-old perform better than that next season.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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