If all goes according to plan, the Toronto Blue Jays will have a key bat in the lineup when they return home this weekend.
Addison Barger said he was feeling good after playing in his first rehab game Sunday with single-A Dunedin, Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith reported Monday.
Barger is tentatively slated to play two more rehab games Tuesday and Wednesday. The team is hoping he's ready for the start of a homestand on Friday against the Los Angeles Angels.
Barger hit a home run on Sunday with Dunedin.
He also walked and grounded out in three plate appearances before David Beckles pinch-hit for him in the eighth inning.
Barger was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left ankle sprain on April 7. The left-handed hitting-slugger exited that early April game against the Chicago White Sox with bilateral ankle discomfort while attempting to leg out an infield single.
Prior to his injury, Barger had yet to replicate his success from last season in the early going, logging just one hit in 19 at-bats.
Barger broke out for the Blue Jays in 2025 with 21 home runs, 74 RBIs and an .756 OPS. He added three homers, drove in nine runs and posted a 1.025 OPS during Toronto's run to the World Series, including the first-ever pinch-hit grand slam in Game 1 of the Fall Classic.
Other injury updates
The Blue Jays say catcher Alejandro Kirk will start swinging a bat later this week. The two-time all-star fractured his catching thumb on April 3, with manager John Schneider saying at the time that he'd miss at least six weeks.
Meanwhile, reliever Yimi Garcia (elbow) is slated to start throwing rehab games later this week. He hasn't pitched since last July.
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