Addison

Barger

Barger was one of the few bright spots for Toronto on Wednesday afternoon down in Baltimore as he took Orioles starter Grayson Rodriguez deep in the third inning for his second big fly of the season. The versatile 24-year-old rookie should get an everyday opportunity for the rebuilding Blue Jays over the next few weeks, which could lead to some impact for fantasy managers in deeper mixed leagues and AL-only formats.

Barger hasn’t been playing much, but the departure of Turner will help there and another trade involving Isiah Kiner-Falefa or someone else could make him a true starter against right-handers. He’s thus far hit just .174/.197/.261 in 72 major league plate appearances, but his minor league numbers suggest that he’d be a solid platoon option.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider doesn’t seem to think very much of Barger, at least judging by the fact that he keeps using Ernie Clement over him against righties. Clement is hitting .252/.264/.400 against righties this season. Barger really should be able to better that, but he is a downgrade defensively at third.

Barger went 9-for-60 (.150) with zero homers and one steal in a 20-game cameo earlier this season for Toronto and finds himself back in the majors with Bo Bichette headed to the injured list with a right calf strain. The 24-year-old prospect doesn’t really have much left to prove in the upper minors, where he’s been an on-base machine the last couple years. However, he’s going to have to make some adjustments at the highest level based on how poorly his first stint went. He’ll presumably split time with Leo Jimenez at shortstop until Bichette is ready to return in a couple weeks.

No word yet whether Bichette will ultimately be placed on the injured list prior to Saturday’s contest following his early exit from Friday’s second-half opener due to a right calf strain. However, it’s worth noting that prospect Addison Barger has joined the Blue Jays on their taxi squad for now. The 26-year-old shortstop’s injury comes at a challenging time for Toronto as they have some major decisions to make prior to next week’s trade deadline.

With everyone healthy, there isn’t a clear path to at-bats for Barger in Toronto at the moment. The 24-year-old has added some defensive versatility to his game this season, but has batted .150 (9-for-60) with zero homers and one steal in 63 plate appearances over 20 games in the majors. He’s going to get another shot eventually, but it might not be in the near future.

Barger hit .256 with eight home runs in 180 at-bats with Triple-A Buffalo this year. He was 1-for-18 (.056) with no walks and six strikeouts in his previous stint with Toronto this year. Daniel Vogelbach was designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

The 24-year-old will head down to the minors after five games with the Blue Jays where he had just one hit across 18 plate appearances. He struck out 33% of the time in his at-bats with Toronto and will continue to develop at the Triple-A level.

Two strikeouts and a weak grounder today. Barger has been on base just once in five games, collecting a lone single, and he’s struck out six times. He’ll need to pick it up if he’s going to survive Kevin Kiermaier’s eventual return.

It’s a rare day off for Springer, who has started seven consecutive contests since April 20. The 34-year-old veteran outfielder has been in Toronto’s lineup for all but two of their contests this season. It’ll be Bo Bichette in the leadoff spot and rookie Addison Barger drawing a start in right field as the Blue Jays face Dodgers ace Tyler Glasnow at the Rogers Centre.