It’s starting to look like a lost season for Addison Barger. The Toronto Blue Jays’ breakout slugger from 2025 has had a disastrous 2026 so far. And the latest report from the Rogers Center looks like it could get much worse.
Barger had a rough start, with a .045 batting average (1 for 19) and a .305 OPS in 28 plate appearances. He missed 25 games due to injuries to both ankles, including a severe left ankle sprain. Then, after his long-awaited return on Saturday, he woke up with “right elbow soreness” on Sunday. He has now left for MRI.
Barger was inserted into Sunday’s lineup as the leadoff hitter. But just hours before the game he was pulled due to an elbow problem. Imaging is expected to provide some answers on Monday.
Barger forced a runner out at the plate on Saturday with a 101.2 mph throw.
One has to suspect that the laser beam throw he made — at more than 101 mph — to catch Jorge Soler at the plate in Saturday’s game had something to do with Sunday’s ominous development.
“Barger’s hand needs to be studied in the laboratory”. This is the caption used by author Vivek Jacob to depict Barger’s thrown missile. And when Barger enters the MRI machine, he will get his wish.
After a slow start to last year’s ’25 campaign, Barger broke out in late May with five homers in seven games and never looked back. The power-packed slugger, who plays third base and right field, finished the year with 21 homers, 74 RBI and a .765 OPS.
Barger was a beast in Toronto’s thrilling playoff run until the 11th inning of World Series Game 7. He batted .367 with a 1.025 OPS in the postseason. He had three homers and nine RBI, highlighted by the Blue Jays’ first World Series grand slam in Game 1.
Given his latest elbow issues and Toronto’s troubling 18-22 start, it doesn’t seem like Barger will be able to add many heroics like this to his resume any time soon.
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