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Addison Barger suffers stress reaction in back during rehab, will be re-evaluated in ‘couple of weeks’
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Photo credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
Thomas Hall
Jun 29, 2026, 18:30 EDTUpdated: Jun 29, 2026, 18:49 EDT
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The Addison Barger recovery train has come to a screeching halt.
About a week ago, we were waiting for Barger to begin a rehab assignment. Now, after being diagnosed with a “stress reaction” in his back, the wait continues.
Manager John Schneider shared before Monday’s contest against the New York Mets that Barger will be shut down from baseball activities for multiple weeks following the latest setback in his injury-plagued 2026 campaign. He’ll be re-evaluated after that and hopes to resume his rehab soon after.
This year has been frustrating on a couple of levels for Barger, who’s been limited to fewer than 30 plate appearances thus far in his third major league season. He’s only been available for nine of the Blue Jays’ 84 games to date, landing on the injured list after those first eight because of a left ankle sprain, which sidelined him for just over a month.
Then, just one game into his return, the 26-year-old wound up back on the IL in May — this time with a different injury: right elbow inflammation. That’s what he had been working his way back from when this back ailment began to creep in.
He had been close to heading out on a rehab assignment, plans that have now been shelved indefinitely after his MRI showed the stress reaction.
“Just as he was hitting in Florida a lot, and that kind of ramped up, he was having some regular soreness [in his back],” Schneider said. “That was part of the reason he came up here.”
The positive news, if there is such a thing in these times, is that Barger’s elbow is back to feeling “okay,” according to Schneider. It’s one of those things he’s been regularly monitoring, even for a few years. Because of the nature of his swing and throws in the outfield, the need to manage it will likely always be there.
It’s all about finding a happy place with it, and that goes for his back now, too.
“The back is tricky, but I think just a couple weeks and see if everything around can get a little bit better, and kind of see what his pain tolerance is like,” Schneider said of Barger’s timeline.
We aren’t starting from scratch here with Barger, but it’s difficult to gauge how much this will delay his return to the Blue Jays’ lineup. He’ll fly back to Florida soon and will spend these next few weeks rehabbing at the club’s player development complex.
“You kind of, because he hasn’t played, you kind of forget about it, but it was a big part of what we were hoping to do coming in, big part of last year,” Schneider said on the impact of missing Barger’s bat.
Here are a few other injury notes from the Blue Jays skipper’s pre-game availability: 
  • Max Scherzer (back) is feeling better and played catch from 90 feet on the field; he could throw off the mound in the bullpen on Tuesday
  • Yimi García (elbow/shoulder) is also feeling better and threw on Monday, but he remains without a clear recovery timeline

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