Addison Barger Heads to IL Amid Blue Jays Roster Shuffle

[Michael Coyle]

On Tuesday afternoon, the Toronto Blue Jays announced that Addison Barger is heading to the injured list with a left ankle sprain. The injury appeared to occur during the Blue Jays’ series in Chicago against the White Sox, when Barger landed awkwardly on first base after trying to beat out a groundball up the middle. 

The awkward landing on first base happened in the top of the third inning. The 26-year-old remained in the game until the bottom of the sixth inning, when he was replaced in right field by Jesús Sánchez. Barger missed Monday night’s 14-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers before being placed on the IL this afternoon.

Through eight games this season, Barger has batted .053 with a .174 OBP, recording only one hit through his first 19 at-bats. His lone hit was a double in Chicago last Friday. The outfielder has also added two RBIs. 

After struggling during his rookie season in 2024, Barger provided a much-needed boost to the Blue Jays’ lineup in 2025. In 135 games, he batted .243 with 21 home runs and 74 RBIs, finishing third on the club in home runs, trailing only George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Barger then put together a very strong postseason for the Blue Jays, batting .367 with three home runs and nine RBIs, including a Game 1 grand slam off former Dodger and current Minnesota Twins reliever Anthony Banda. 

In a corresponding move, the Blue Jays recalled newly acquired infielder Tyler Fitzgerald. He was acquired from the San Francisco Giants on Saturday in exchange for cash considerations. 

Fitzgerald has spent the past three seasons bouncing between the Giants and their Triple-A club, the Sacramento River Cats. For his career, he is a .252 hitter with 21 home runs and 53 RBIs across 563 MLB at-bats. The 28-year-old is also 28-for-36 in stolen base attempts across his three campaigns. Fitzgerald enjoyed a strong season in 2024, but last year, he batted .217 with just four home runs and 14 RBIs across 217 at-bats in 72 games. 

In other moves, left-hander Josh Fleming was designated for assignment after making his Blue Jays debut in Monday night’s loss. Fleming ran into trouble during his three innings, allowing six hits, four earned runs and one walk, while striking out one. The 29-year-old struggled with command, throwing only 45 of his 77 pitches for strikes. 

The newly signed Patrick Corbin was called up from Dunedin, replacing Fleming on the big league roster. The Blue Jays signed Corbin to a one-year, $1 million contract on Saturday, as their rotation continues to deal with injuries. In one Single-A start, Corbin threw 74 pitches over five innings, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out nine. The Blue Jays have announced Corbin will start on Friday when the Twins visit the Rogers Centre. 

The Blue Jays also announced some recovery timelines for a few of their most recent injured players. Catcher Alejandro Kirk had a screw placed in his thumb and is looking like he’s set to miss six weeks. At the same time, they announced that starter Cody Ponce will undergo knee surgery next week and is estimated to have a six-month recovery timeline, effectively ending his regular season. A playoff run could allow for Ponce to return this year and pitch with the club after signing a three-year, $30 million contract with Toronto on December 11.

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[Spanky__99]

This year is cursed man, I think Gimenez is hurt now, he stayed in the game but he definitely looked limber after that incident tonight.