Blue Jays Announce Addison Barger News After 33 Missed Games
The Toronto Blue Jays offense has not been at full strength all season due to injury. As a result, it has been an underwhelming year thus far for the 2025 American League champions. Entering Tuesday, the Blue Jays own a 34-38 record, sitting in third place in the AL East.
One of the biggest absences has been right fielder Addison Barger, who has played just nine games this season due to two separate injuries. Barger first dealt with a left ankle sprain in early April that forced him to miss a month.
Then in the very first game he returned in early May, he suffered another injury, this one being right elbow inflammation.
While it was disappointing to see Barger go down again, the good news at the time was that he would not need surgery for his right elbow. Still, the Blue Jays have been careful with his rehab process.
Ahead of Tuesday's series opener against the Boston Red Sox, manager John Schneider revealed an exciting update on Barger's condition. The 26-year-old has progressed to throwing out to 150 feet, a big step forward given the nature of his arm injury.
He has also been hitting off a Trajekt machine, which replicates major-league pitching. Schneider added that the hope is for a rehab assignment to come as soon as this week (h/t Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet).
Addison Barger (elbow) has progressed to hitting off a Trajekt machine and increased his throwing program out to 150-feet
— Arden Zwelling (@ArdenZwelling) June 16, 2026
Hope is he can begin a rehab assignment later this week, per Blue Jays manager John Schneider
With Barger trending toward a return by the end of the month, his addition will be a huge boost for an offense that has lacked power, particularly with first basemanVladimir Guerrero Jr. managing to hit just three home runs this season.
Last year, Barger broke out with a .243 batting average, .301 on-base percentage, .756 OPS, 21 home runs and 74 RBIs.
He was a huge reason Toronto made it to the World Series, and if the Blue Jays have any hope of going on another run this year, having him healthy and in the lineup will go a long way toward making that goal possible.
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This story was originally published June 16, 2026 at 2:29 PM.