Addison

Barger

Ernie Clement will slide over to shortstop to replace Jimenez in the field and Addison Barger will play third base and hit seventh. It’s unclear how long Jimenez might be out for.

Barger’s stock might be further down than that of the PED-suspended Orelvis Martínez at this point. He’s hit just .204/.239/.395 in 177 major league plate appearances, and his defense at third has been a real problem. He just isn’t giving the Jays any reason to include him in their initial plans for next year.

The Jays are facing a lefty tonight, so Barger wasn’t going to be in the lineup anyway. He’ll likely be in there against righty Spencer Schwellenbach on Saturday.

Barger was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer off Phillies rookie Tyler Phillips in his first at-bat of the contest before being lifted for a defensive replacement in the seventh inning. There should be some additional clarity on his status in the coming days. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now.

Barger was the lone relative bright spot in a brutal game for Toronto’s lineup. He had one of their two total hits and drew their lone walk. This could be the start of a little hot streak for Barger who’s hit in eight of his last 10 games with three doubles and three home runs over that span.

Barger’s finally starting to come around. He tattooed a hanging slider from Hunter Strickland deep into the right field seats as Toronto piled it on the Angels’ bullpen. That homer was his second in three games and he’s recorded a hit in six out of eight games as he’s finally finding a groove.

Barger played the hero with his walk-off home run to cap off a huge comeback from the Blue Jays. He hit a foul ball that looked like it was gone just before his decisive blow, but ultimately wouldn’t be cheated. At 439 feet, it was the longest homer of his career and three of his four career long balls have traveled at least 418 feet. His power is not in question despite his .552 OPS through 40 big league games.

Barger is a left-handed hitter, but you’d never know that from how he’s been used recently; he’s started the last three times the Jays have faced a lefty and sat the last three times against righties. Barger homered Saturday, but that was against a right-handed reliever in Jorge López. He’s 3-for-30 this month, and he’s hitting .170/.207/.311 overall in 112 plate appearances overall. While he does have a pretty good history against lefties in the minors, he’s not going to succeed in the majors while being used like this.

Springer returned from a shin injury for Saturday’s game against New York, but the 34-year-old will get a day of maintenance against the Yankees for the finale. Addison Barger is starting in right field and hitting seventh in Springer’s absence.

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.