BOSTON - Addison Barger’s season is done, and the Blue Jays will have to wait until next year to find out what kind of impact he can still make.
Toronto manager John Schneider said Friday that Barger will undergo right elbow surgery Monday and miss the rest of the season. The club is still deciding between full Tommy John surgery and an internal brace procedure, with Dr. Keith Meister set to perform the operation.
“It’s tough to lose the whole year of at-bats, reps, performance,” Schneider said. “We were counting on him, obviously, to be a big part of our team. You can see how much you miss him, for sure.”
Barger’s year never got rolling. After blasting 21 homers in the 2025 regular season and three more in the playoffs during Toronto’s run to the World Series last year, he played in just nine games this season and recorded one hit. He hasn’t appeared since May 9, when he hurt his elbow on a throw from the outfield that was clocked at 101.2 mph.
The injury is a major hit for a Toronto lineup that has struggled to find power. The Blue Jays are 28th in MLB in home runs from outfielders with 32, a steep drop after finishing with the second-most last year at 113. For a team that has gone 47-56, Barger’s absence has been hard to ignore.
Schneider said Barger has been dealing with elbow problems for “a couple years,” and the hope is that surgery will clear them up for good. If he has the internal brace procedure, the rehab for a position player is about six months.
A full Tommy John surgery would take around nine months. The team plans to make the final call Monday.
That timeline could spill into the start of next season, though a possible lockout could push Opening Day back. Schneider also said the Jays will have to see how the roster is built next year before deciding whether Barger could return first as a designated hitter.
There are recent examples of position players coming back from major elbow surgery, including Bryce Harper, who had full Tommy John surgery in November 2022 and returned in May 2023. Harper spent nearly three months as a DH before getting back on the field.
Barger’s surgery adds another chapter to a frustrating injury year for Toronto. Anthony Santander had shoulder surgery in the spring, Cody Ponce tore his ACL in his first start of the year, José Berríos had Tommy John surgery, Max Scherzer has spent most of the season on the injured list, and George Springer has hurt his toe twice. Some players eventually got healthy, but the Blue Jays still have not climbed out of the standings hole.
Barger had been working his way back, getting close to game action before suffering a setback with a back injury while recovering from the elbow issue. That made a return feel possible for a Toronto club desperate for offense. Now that comeback will have to wait until 2026.
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