Blue Jays' Addison Barger: Enters Saturday's lineup
Rotowire
Barger will hit seventh and play third base Saturday against the Cardinals.
Barger was not in Toronto's original lineup but was inserted to replace the injured Leo Jimenez (finger). Barger has picked up only 18 at-bats so far in September, collecting three hits with a homer, three RBI and three runs scored.
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Blue Jays' Addison Barger: On bench against lefty
Rotowire
Barger is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mets.
Barger has moved into a regular role against right-handed pitching, but the Blue Jays continue to shield the lefty-hitting utility man from southpaws. He'll cede duties at third base to Luis De Los Santos while southpaw Sean Manaea takes the hill for the Mets.
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Blue Jays' Addison Barger: Back in action Saturday
Rotowire
Barger (knee) will start at third base and bat seventh Saturday against Atlanta.
Knee soreness has prevented Barger from playing in Toronto's last two games, but the issue seems to have subsided ahead of Saturday's contest. The 24-year-old has been hot at the plate recently, recording a hit in 10 of his last 11 games while posting a 1.064 OPS in that span.
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Blue Jays' Addison Barger: Available off bench
Rotowire
Barger (knee) is feeling better and will be available off the bench for Friday's game against Atlanta, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.
A knee issue has kept Barger sidelined since Tuesday, but he seems to be trending in the right direction. While his overall numbers this season remain underwhelming, Barger has an .827 OPS and seven homers in 30 games since his return to the majors in late July. He should see regular starts for Toronto when healthy.
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Blue Jays' Addison Barger: Battling knee issue
Rotowire
Barger was removed from Tuesday's game against the Phillies due to left knee discomfort.
Barger went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run before his knee caused him to come out of the game ahead of the seventh inning. There's no telling if he'll be available for Wednesday's contest, but an extended absence seems unlikely.
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Blue Jays' Addison Barger: Blasts walk-off home run
Rotowire
Barger went 2-for-4 with a solo homer in a 5-4 win over the Angels on Friday.
Joey Loperfido and Barger jumped on Roansy Contreras in the ninth inning, going back-to-back to end the game. It was Barger's first career walk-off homer and the second time in Blue Jays history that rookies went back-to-back in the same game. Barger also became the 10th rookie in team history to hit a walk-off home run. He's started six of the Blue Jays' last seven games, with two long balls in that span.
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Blue Jays' Addison Barger: Belts first career homer Monday
Rotowire
Barger went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Game 1 of Monday's doubleheader against Baltimore.
Barger didn't start either contest and didn't play at all in Game 2, but he enjoyed an MLB milestone n the matinee with a three-run homer -- his first career long ball -- in the fifth inning. The outfielder entered that contest in the second frame as a result of Justin Turner being pulled after he was dealt to the Mariners in a trade. Barger has played sporadically while with the big-league club, and that doesn't figure to change much in spite of Toronto's roster shakeup given his .174/.197/.261 slash line on the season.
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Blue Jays' Addison Barger: Settling in at third base
Rotowire
Barger will start at third base and bat sixth in Monday's game against the Red Sox.
Barger will stay in the lineup for the seventh time in nine games, with each of his last four starts coming at third base. He looks like he'll be a priority over Ernie Clement at the hot corner while Isiah Kiner-Falefa shifts over to shortstop as a replacement for Bo Bichette (calf), who remains on the injured list. Since getting recalled from Triple-A Buffalo on June 14, Barger has gone 7-for-20 with a double, a walk, a stolen base, three RBI and three runs.
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Blue Jays' Addison Barger: Swipes first big-league bag
Rotowire
Barger went 2-for-4 with a run scored, an RBI and a stolen base in Sunday's win over the Guardians.
Getting the start in right field and batting seventh, Barger stole the first bag of his MLB career after he led off the second inning with a single. The 24-year-old has started two straight games since his latest promotion, one in right and one at third base, and he's gone 3-for-7 with two RBI and a 1:2 BB:K. Barger could be in line for consistent playing time against right-handed pitching as the Jays look for an offensive spark.
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Blue Jays' Addison Barger: Sent back to minors
Rotowire
The Blue Jays optioned Barger to Triple-A Buffalo on Friday, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
Barger struggled during his first stint in the big leagues, going just 1-for-18 with a 6:0 K:BB. He'll go back to playing every day with Buffalo while Nathan Lukes takes his spot on Toronto's roster.
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Blue Jays' Addison Barger: Expected to be promoted
Rotowire
Barger is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Buffalo prior to Wednesday's game in Kansas City, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Kevin Kiermaier exited Tuesday's game with hip flexor discomfort and could be headed to the injured list to open up room on the 26-man active roster for Barger. The 24-year-old has slashed .314/.435/.586 with three home runs and a 15:14 K:BB over 19 games with Buffalo this season. He's played right field and third base for Buffalo this season and would be making his major-league debut when/if he gets into a game.
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Blue Jays' Addison Barger: Sent to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Blue Jays optioned Barger to Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday.
Barger didn't have a realistic chance of making Toronto's Opening Day roster, but he still put on a show while in big-league camp with a .929 OPS in 19 plate appearances. The 24-year-old saw a lot of action in right field this spring, potentially setting him up for a promotion if George Springer goes down with an injury at some point this season.
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Blue Jays' Addison Barger: Getting work in right field
Rotowire
Barger has played a lot of right field so far in camp, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports.
The 24-year-old played four different positions last season in the minors, including 20 games each at third base and shortstop, but the Blue Jays seem to view right field as Barger's best defensive fit. He won't break camp on the big-league roster, but should George Springer go down with an injury and Barger is swinging the bat well at Triple-A Buffalo, it could position him to make his MLB debut over the summer.
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Blue Jays' Addison Barger: No structural damage
Rotowire
Barger, who has been sidelined with Triple-A Buffalo since April 28, had his right elbow checked out last week by Dr. Keith Meister in Texas and there was no structural damage found, Scott Mitchell of TSN.ca reports.
This is positive news for Barger, who is now rehabbing at the Blue Jays' spring training facility in Florida. He was off to a slow start to the season prior to suffering the elbow injury. Barger is slashing .237/.333/.329 with one home run, one steal and a 31 percent strikeout rate in 20 games.
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Blue Jays' Addison Barger: Getting work in outfield
Rotowire
Barger will spend some time in the outfield this spring, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
The 2018 sixth-round pick broke out last season, slashing .305/.375/.544 across 125 games at the three highest levels of the minors. He only reached Triple-A for eight games at the tail end of the year, so an Opening Day debut seems unlikely, but if he looks good in the outfield, he'll increase his potential paths to the big-league roster.
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Blue Jays' Addison Barger: Meteoric rise continues
Rotowire
Barger was promoted to Triple-A Buffalo in mid-September and went 11-for-31 (.355) with three homers and a 5:5 BB:K over eight games.
There was no level of baseball where pitchers were able to slow Barger down this season. A relatively unheralded prospect coming into the year, he rocketed from High-A to Triple-A over the course of the campaign, posting a spectacular composite slash line of .308/.378/.555 with 26 homers and 91 steals. A somewhat high strikeout rate is the only mark against him as a hitter, but Barger was able to trim that toward the end of the season too. The one complicating factor for the 22-year-old is that he's not an especially good fielder at either third base or shortstop, and the Jays are set at both of those positions for at least 2023. For Barger to find a place on Toronto's roster next year, he may have to move to second base or settle for a utility role.
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Blue Jays' Addison Barger: Scorching since rise to Double-A
Rotowire
Barger has hit .418/.467/.657 with four home runs in 18 games since being promoted to Double-A New Hampshire.
This hot streak has hardly come out of nowhere, as Barger posted a sharp .295/.361/.549 line with 14 homers and seven steals at High-A Vancouver before moving up. A sixth-round pick in 2018, he was mostly unremarkable in minor-league action prior to this season -- he did show some power in A ball last year, but he struck out far too often. However, Barger has cut his strikeout rate noticeably this season, and he's maintained that improvement since his promotion. He's still a bit raw defensively, but the 23-year-old has a strong arm and may be able to stick at shortstop. Of course, the Jays have Bo Bichette holding that position down for the foreseeable future.
