As the Toronto Blue Jays look to fill out their roster for 2026, most of the conversation is on how the Jays can add at least one more impact bat to the lineup. Bo Bichette, Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman are the three most common names thrown around – and for good reason.
But let’s just step back and consider that the Jays have a player on the roster who looks like he is about to fully break out in 2026: Addison Barger.
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Look, Barger was no slouch in 2025. He played in 135 regular season games, hitting .243 with 21 home runs. However, his playoff run was legendary. He hit three home runs as the Jays advanced to Game 7 of the World Series, and he hit .367 across 17 games.
He was a huge force in the playoffs, and the whole world got to see it.
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The power is real. The ball just jumps off his bat and it just sounds different when he hits it. He strikes fear into the heart of opposing pitchers and his 86th percentile exit velocity proves it. He’s got a 91st percentile hard-hit percentage.
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He doesn’t miss many pitches and if he picks up in 2026 where he left off in 2025? The Blue Jays have another absolute force in the lineup.
Well, offensively, he figures to be an impact bat within a slew of them. George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Anthony Santander and Barger should create an excellent power foursome, and that’s not including the anticipated signing of at least one of Bregman, Tucker or Bichette.
Throw in Alejandro Kirk and the Jays have one of the deepest lineups in baseball again.
The bigger question for Barger is how he slots in defensively. If the Jays get Tucker, Barger would likely move to third base. If they acquire an infielder? Then Barger would likely stick in right field, where he has one of the best throwing arms in the league.
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As teams get more fearful of him in the lineup, it’s likely that they’ll pitch around him more. This should help his on-base base percentage, which was just .301 in 2025. He drew only 36 walks in 135 games, but that should improve.
He also only hit .217 vs. left-handed pitching. If he can become better in that regard? The sky is the limit for him.
(Of course his grand slam in the World Series came off a lefty).
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