Addison Barger

Bats Left, Throws Right
Height 6' 0", Weight 210 lb.
High School C. Leon King High School
Debut April 24, 2024

Born November 12, 1999 in Bellevue, WA USA

Biographical Information[edit]

Addison Barger was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 6th round of the 2018 amateur draft, out of a high school in Tampa, FL. He gave up a commitment to go to the University of Florida in order to sign with the Blue Jays. It took him a while to make his major league debut, which only came six years later, in 2024, although in the interim there was one blank season in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the minor leagues. He was mainly an infielder in the minors, with shortstop and third base his main positions, but began to also play the outfield in 2023 to make him more valuable to the major league team.

He truly began to emerge as a prospect in 2022, when he hit a combined .308/.378/.555 between three teams, starting out in Class A with the Vancouver Canadians and moving up through the AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats to the AAA Buffalo Bisons. He slugged 33 doubles and 26 homers that season and was named a Blue Jays organizational All-Star. In 2023, an elbow injury forced him to play a few games on rehabilitation outings in the Florida Complex League and Florida State League and limited him to 88 games with Buffalo. he hit .250 with 9 homers and 46 RBIs for the Bisons, not enough to earn a call-up to the Show.

He returned to Buffalo at the start of 2024 and was hitting .314 after with 21 RBIs 19 games and was the first Bisons position player to be called up to Toronto that year, not counting major league catcher Danny Jansen who had played a few games there on a rehabilitation assignment. He came up to Toronto on April 23rd when CF Kevin Kiermaier was placed on the injured list with a hip problem, and made his debut the next day as the starting left fielder on the road against the Kansas City Royals, going 0-for-4. He also committed an error on the first ball hit to him, what should have been a routine fly ball by Kyle Isbel that he misjudged and saw fall behind his back, a result of his limited experience in the outfield. He collected his first career hit on April 29th against the Royals, after having gone 0 for 11 in his first three games; it was a solid single to right, and he came to score shortly afterwards on a double by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He had only that hit in 18 at-bats in five games before being sent back to Buffalo. He returned to Toronto on June 14th, taking over the roster spot that became available when Daniel Vogelbach was designated for assignment. It took him another stay in Buffalo, but he eventually hit his first major league homer on July 29th, in the 5th inning of the first game of a doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles, and it was a monster three-run shot off Zach Eflin that traveled 426 feet to right field at Camden Yards. Ironically, he had entered that game unexpectedly in the 2nd inning when 1B Justin Turner was removed from the game, having just been traded to the Seattle Mariners. On August 23rd, he hit the first walk-off homer of his career, and it came in spectacular fashion: the Jays entered the bottom of the 9th trailing 4-3 against the Los Angeles Angels, having come back from being down 4-0 after two innings. Fellow rookie Joey Loperfido opened the inning by blasting a game-tying homer off Roansy Contreras, after which Addison stepped up to the plate, first hitting a drive into the stands but barely foul down the right field line to make the count full, then, on the next pitch, blasting a no-doubt homer into right field for a 5-4 win. He finished at .197 in 69 games, with 7 homers and 28 RBIs, for an OPS+ of 69.

He had a tremendous spring training in 2025, but was competing with a glut of outfielders for a couple of available spot on Toronto's roster, even with Daulton Varsho destined to open the season on the injured list. He thus started the year at Buffalo, where he hit .211 with 2 homers in his first 12 games. He was called up to Toronto on April 15th, originally for a couple of days while Nathan Lukes was on the paternity list. He started that day against the Atlanta Braves, going 0 for 4, and while he also had an ofer the next day, the Jays decided to keep him around after Lukes' return, instead optioning Davis Schneider, who had had but one hit since the start of the year, to AAA. On April 18th, Addison extended his hitless streak to 11 at-bats, but it mattered little, as it was his defense that made the difference in a 3-1 win over the Seattle Mariners. He amassed three outfield assists with his powerful throwing arm from right field. He was the first major league outfielder to do that since Mark Canha in 2023, but in Blue Jays annals, one had to go back to Rick Bosetti on May 28, 1979 to find a similar performance. One of his throws was measured at 98.8 mph, making it the hardest throw by any outfielder in the majors that season, and harder than any of the 230 pitches thrown by both teams' pitchers that night. With the team struggling to find offense, Barger received increase playing time, not because he was wielding a particularly hot bat, but because he had the potential to supply power to a team badly lacking it. His ability to play the infield also came into play, as the Jays sent rookie infielder Will Wagner back to Buffalo, knowing that Addison could fill in a third base and even play short in case of emergency. On May 9th, starting at 3B with 2B Andres Gimenez having been placed on the injured list and 3B Ernie Clement having slid over to Gimenez's former spot, Addison had his best game of the season, going 3 for 4 with a run and 3 RBIs in a 6-3 win over the Seattle Mariners; all three hits had an exit velocity over 109 mph, and he also showed off his arm with a throw to 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. timed at 94.9 mph - that was harder than any other infielder that year apart from Elly De La Cruz. Playing everyday in the absence of Gimenez, he added to his growing list of accomplishments during a four-game sweep of The Athletics at the Rogers Centre from May 29-June 1. He homered three times in the four games, including a three-run shot that put the Jays ahead for the first time in the 8th inning of the finale, going 5 for 13 with 6 runs and 6 RBIs overall. The three homers were all huge blasts well up into the right field stands. He ended the season at .243 in 135 games, with 21 homers and 74 RBis for an OPS+ of 105. He played just about everyday, either at third base and in right field; although he often did not start against lefties, he would often come into the game whenever the starting pitcher gave way to a right-handed reliever. He continued to hit well in the postseason, blasting two homers in Toronto's win over the Mariners in the ALCS, then was the hero of Game 1 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on October 24th. With lefty Blake Snell starting for L.A., he began the game on the bench, but was called up to pinch-hit for Davis Schneider with the bases loaded and a right-handed reliever on the mound in the 6th. The Dodgers replied by bringing in lefty Anthony Banda, but a whole lot of good it did them as Addison annihilated a pitch for the first-ever pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history. That made the score 9-2, and the Jays went on to win the game, 11-4. He went 12 for 25 in the Series, which the Blue Jays lost in 7 games, and could have been the hero if his drive to left field in the 9th inning of Game 6 had not been hit so hard that it got stuck in the fence's padding, turning a potential triple or inside-the-park homer into a double. As a result, the Blue Jays failed to tie the score and when down in extra innings in Game 7.

After his heroics in 2025, he was able to start the 2026 season with the major league team for the first time, but he started ice cold, going 1 for 19 in his first 8 games. On April 5th, he hurt his ankle trying to beat out an infield grounder in a game against the Chicago White Sox and was taken out of the game a couple of innings later. It turned out that the injury was more problematic than originally thought and he went on the injured list on April 7th, one of a number of devastating injuries that sent the team into a tumble early in the season. He returned to action on May 9th in a home game against the Los Angeles Angels and it did not take time for him to make his presence felt, although it was with his glove. In the 2nd inning, he unleashed a 101 mph bullet from his position in right field straight into C Brandon Valenzuela's glove, retiring Jorge Soler at home to end the inning. It was the fastest outfield throw by anyone in the majors that season. At the plate, while he did not get a hit, he walked twice and scored once in a 14-1 win. However, he seemed to hurt himself again in that game and went back on the IL immediately.

Notable Achievements[edit]

20-Home Run Seasons: 1 (2025)

Related Sites[edit]

Addison Barger on mlb.com

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Addison Barger

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