Addison Barger’s 2026 season never really got off the ground, and that’s exactly why the Blue Jays ought to be thinking bigger about him this winter.
After a breakout 2025 that featured 21 home runs and a pinch-hit grand slam in the World Series, Barger was limited to just nine games this year. Ankle, elbow and back injuries wiped out almost everything Toronto was hoping to get from him.
He hit .045 with no home runs and two RBI before a back stress reaction stopped his progress in late June, then had right elbow UCL repair surgery in late July. The recovery timeline was expected to be six months, which pointed to a return around the beginning of February 2027.
Manager John Schneider later pointed to Barger's absence as one of the injuries that hurt the Blue Jays' lineup the most during a rough 2026 season. Toronto absolutely needs his left-handed power back. But there’s another layer here, and it could shape the club’s offseason: Barger might be a candidate to solve second base.
That position is far from settled heading into 2027. Ernie Clement opened the year with an All-Star first half, but his bat fell off badly after the break.
He hit .203/.235/.259 after the break and finished at .259 with nine home runs, 48 RBI and a .649 OPS. General manager Ross Atkins has already made it clear Clement will have to earn his spot going into 2027, and he won’t be handed the everyday job.
Toronto can shop for help, of course. Brandon Lowe stands out as a free-agent option after putting together a huge 2026 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, batting .260/.331/.493 with a career-high 35 home runs and 96 RBI.
But Lowe could cost plenty, and the Blue Jays are already paying Andrés Giménez more than $20 million to play shortstop. That would leave the club investing heavily in the middle infield when it may already have cheaper internal choices.
Barger is one of them, even if the fit is unconventional on the surface. He has barely played second base at the pro level, with 145.1 innings there in Rookie Ball in 2018 and another 186 innings at Single-A Dunedin in 2021.
Moving him there would be a real project. Still, he has also worked at third base and shortstop in the minors, and he didn’t shift to the outfield until Triple-A in 2023.
The bigger point is that Barger has already shown he can handle change. In the majors, he has bounced between third base and the corner outfield without looking overwhelmed.
Second base could help Toronto in more than one way, too. It would ease some of the throwing load on his elbow as he comes back from surgery, and it could create a clean lefty-righty setup with Clement.
It would also ripple through the rest of the roster. If Barger moves off the outfield, the Blue Jays could give Brett Bateman the center-field job and then sort out the corners with Nathan Lukes plus two new additions. Seiya Suzuki and Teruaki Sato are mentioned as the kind of impact bats Toronto could chase.
That kind of arrangement would also let Anthony Santander get more time at designated hitter. Barger could still see some action at third base, which would give Kazuma Okamoto more chances to rest at DH as well.
There are obvious questions Toronto would have to answer in spring training, especially on the defensive side and with Barger’s health. He should have to prove he can handle the position.
But the upside is hard to ignore, and the cost of trying it is relatively low. The Blue Jays could gain flexibility and avoid another big financial commitment in the middle infield.
For a team that needs power and still has plenty of roster decisions to make, moving Barger to second base is an idea worth serious consideration.
In Other News...
Blue Jays Face A Vladimir Guerrero Jr Decision They Can't Miss
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.s 2026 season left the Blue Jays with a bigger question than they expected to be asking so soon. A player who had long been counted on as the middle-of-the-order anchor finished with a sharply reduced power output, and the drop-off was stark enough to force Toronto to take a hard look at where things stand heading into the offseason.
For the Blue Jays, this is not just about one down year. It is about whether Guerrero can get back to the kind of impact that once made him look like one of the leagues most reliable run producers, because that answer could shape how aggressively the club moves around him this winter. The organization has to decide how much faith to place in a rebound before it starts making larger roster choices. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Need One Big Outfield Answer After Offensive Collapse
After a season in which the Blue Jays finished last in several key offensive categories, the front office enters the winter with a clear priority: find ways to score more often and take pressure off a pitching staff that did plenty of heavy lifting. General manager Ross Atkins is expected to look for help, and the outfield is one of the places where Toronto can most obviously try to raise its ceiling.
The uncertainty only adds to the urgency. George Springer may be nearing the end of his career, while Anthony Santander and Addison Barger are both trying to rebound after injury-hit seasons, leaving the lineup with too many questions and not enough certainty. Toronto does not need a marginal tweak here, it needs an answer that can stabilize the group and help lift a lineup that fell flat too often. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Suddenly Have A Risky Second Base Decision To Make
Ross Atkins has already hinted that the Blue Jays may not view second base as a settled spot for the long term, saying Ernie Clement would need to earn playing time in 2027. That alone suggests Toronto could be looking ahead to a different kind of everyday answer at the position, one with a more established offensive ceiling than the club has gotten there recently.
One name that has surfaced in that conversation is Jazz Chisholm Jr., a player whose power-speed mix would certainly fit the profile of an upgrade if Toronto decided to shop in the higher end of the market. The appeal is obvious, but so are the questions, because Chisholm is a pending free agent with a track record that comes with real upside and real risk, and there is no sign yet that the Blue Jays are actually pushing hard in that direction. [Read more 🡒]