Blue Jays should consider an Addison Barger position change in 2027

Addison Barger barely had an opportunity to build on his breakout 2025 season. After hitting 21 home runs and adding a pinch-hit grand slam in the World Series, the versatile Toronto Blue Jays slugger was limited to nine games in 2026. He suffered ankle, elbow and back injuries which completely derailed his season.

Barger hit just .045 with no home runs and two RBI before a back stress reaction interrupted his hitting progression in late June. He then underwent right elbow UCL repair surgery in late July, a procedure that carried an expected six-month recovery timeline and put his estimated return around the beginning of February 2027.

Manager John Schneider later identified Barger's absence as one of the injuries that hurt Toronto's lineup the most during a difficult 2026 campaign. Getting his left-handed power back will be important, but the Blue Jays should also use the offseason to consider whether his return could help solve another roster question.

Moving Addison Barger to second base could unlock the Blue Jays' offseason

Second base is hardly settled entering 2027. Ernie Clement had (literally) an All-Star first half. But after slashing .296/.318/.433 in he faded badly down the stretch. He hit .203/.235/.259 after the break and finished the season with a .259 average, nine home runs, 48 RBI and a .649 OPS.

General manager Ross Atkins has already indicated that Clement will have to compete for his role going into 2027. He says Clement won't be handed the everyday job. Toronto should be searching for an upgrade, and free-agent second baseman Brandon Lowe is an obvious fit after hitting .260/.331/.493 with a career-high 35 home runs and 96 RBI for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2026.

The issue with Lowe is that he could command a hefty contract, and the Blue Jays are already paying Andrés Giménez more than $20 million to play shortstop. That would lock Toronto into two expensive players up the middle when it may already have a couple of much cheaper internal options, one of whom is Barger.

Now, the obvious caveat is that the 26-year-old Barger has never really played second base. He logged 145.1 innings at the keystone in Rookie Ball in 2018 and another 186 innings there with Single-A Dunedin in 2021. Asking him to switch positions would be a lot, but he also played third base and shortstop in the minor leagues and did not move to the outfield until he reached Triple-A in 2023.

Barger has shown he is highly adaptable moving between third and the corner outfield during his MLB stints. Moving him to second base might also help the Blue Jays on two fronts: reducing the strain on his throwing elbow as he returns from surgery and giving Toronto a ready-made lefty-righty platoon with Clement.

The move could also open an outfield spot that is no longer preoccupied by Barger. The Blue Jays could install Brett Bateman as their everyday centre-fielder and mix and match Nathan Lukes with two new corner-outfield additions, with Seiya Suzuki and Teruaki Sato representing the type of impact bats Toronto could pursue.

That alignment would free Anthony Santander to receive more at-bats at designated hitter. Barger could also still take occasional reps at third base, allowing Kazuma Okamoto to spend more days off his feet at DH as well.

There are legitimate defensive and health questions Toronto would need to answer in spring training, and Barger should not be handed the job without proving he can manage the position. Still, the experiment would cost the Blue Jays very little and could save them from making another major financial commitment in the middle infield.

In the end, moving Barger to second base would give Toronto considerable flexibility offensively and defensively. For a club that needs more power but also has several positions to address, it is an idea worth exploring.

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