Barger’s big day shows he’s ready to build on memorable 2025 for Blue Jays

DUNEDIN, Fla. – Addison Barger was too busy rounding the bases to notice where his second-inning home run landed, but he laughed when he heard that he’d hit himself in the head on the scoreboard in left-centre field at TD Ballpark.

“Right off his face,” as manager John Schneider put it.

More notable was the fact that Barger sent one to the opposite field, something he’s never done in a big-league game, a post-season game or even a spring training game. There’s also the fact that it came against a left-handed pitcher, in this case Bryan Sammons of the Tigers. And don’t forget the two-run single that came in his next at-bat off yet another left-handed pitcher.

But for a player who hit the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history, spring training must be kept in perspective. Days like this are pleasant pit stops along the way for a player like Barger, but they aren’t the destination. Asked how his swing feels, he shrugged and smiled.

“I don’t know. It feels okay, I guess.”

Just okay?

“It feels good,” Barger said. “It's just getting back in the games, getting the reps. Right now, I'm more focused on getting ready. I'm not having a ton of swing thoughts at this point, just because I haven't had that many at-bats.”

Even if Barger isn’t thinking much about his swing, it seems to be where it should be, and for a Blue Jays team that’s about to rely more heavily than ever on Barger, that’s welcome news. Not only will he be asked to hit left-handed pitching more often, he’ll still bounce between right field and third base on defence. Simply put, he’s in the middle of everything this team’s trying to accomplish in 2026.

"Addy can get pretty locked in pretty quickly,” Schneider said. "It's pretty free and easy right now. That's a really good thing for a hitter and hopefully he can stay right there."

“He brings a level of intensity for sure,” added Kevin Gausman, who pitched 3.1 scoreless innings Sunday, putting him on track for a potential opening-day assignment. “I just know from a pitcher’s standpoint, any time you have a guy in the batter’s box that’s going to swing as hard as he can more often than not, you’re always aware of who it is. You don’t want to get beat by those guys and I think pitchers try to do too much against him – try to maybe overpower him. But he’s just gotten better and better. Great post-season and hopefully he can build off of that.”

While Barger has already translated his substantial raw power into results, he’s also done well at limiting strikeouts. He struck out 26.7 per cent of the time as a rookie in 2024 before lowering his strikeout rate to 24.1 per cent in 2025, far closer to the MLB average of 22.2 per cent. 

As spring training began, the Blue Jays’ coaching staff wanted to find ways to test the likes of Barger and fellow left-handed hitter Daulton Varsho against left-handed pitching to prepare them for the season. So far, Barger’s liking the challenge.

“It's nice to get thrown into the fire a little bit,” he said.

Then there’s the defensive side of Barger’s game. After playing 91 times at third base and 57 times in right field a year ago, he’ll now transition into more of an outfield forward role because newcomer Kazuma Okamoto will get most of the starts at third.

But with Okamoto and the rest of the Blue Jays’ infield now playing in the World Baseball Classic, Barger and Davis Schneider have been spending most of their time on the infield over the last week or two. It’s a useful refresher for Barger, but he’ll soon return to the outfield in preparation for regular reps in right once the season begins.

“We want to get him as comfortable as we can,” John Schneider said.

For Barger, it’s easier to transition back to the outfield as long as he gets the chance to shag some fly balls. The footwork and quick reactions required at third base require a little more time, but after spending the last week there, he’s comfortable again.

“It took me a couple days, but I feel pretty good over there,” he said. “It's a lot of back and forth. I'm going to go back out to right and not feel great for a day, and then get comfortable there, and come back at third, and not feel great. You just do the cycle.”

When Barger looks ahead, his focus is on staying healthy. As he says, getting hits in spring training is great, but they mean nothing if he can’t start the season at full strength. He wants to contribute to another winning team – and he’s already excited about hearing the fans at Rogers Centre on opening day.

“Just being a big part of a team going to the World Series is something to be proud of for me,” he said. “But the thing about baseball is it’s just never-ending. So my sights are always set on the next thing.”