addison barger is expected to return to the Blue Jays on Saturday after being sidelined since Apr. 5 with inflammation in both ankles. Toronto gets back a 26-year-old infielder at a time when it opened the weekend against the Los Angeles Angels riding a four-game losing streak.
John Schneider's Friday update
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Friday that Barger is expected to be activated ahead of Saturday’s game against the Angels. The move would end an absence that started on Apr. 5, when the infielder went on the injured list with inflammation in both ankles.
Barger’s return comes after a rough start at the plate before the injury. He opened the season with a.053 average, a.279 OPS and two RBIs in eight games. Toronto has needed cleaner production at the top and middle of the lineup, and his activation gives the club a chance to replace some of that lost depth.
Single-A Dunedin production
He also gave the organization a reason to move quickly. Earlier in the week, Barger homered twice in three games at Single-A Dunedin, a strong enough rehab stint to put him on track for Saturday.
That short run in Dunedin was the only recent game action listed for him, and it followed weeks out of the lineup after the ankle inflammation. The Blue Jays are still trying to stop a skid that left them fourth in the American League East at 16-21, so every healthy bat matters while they search for a way out of it.
Blue Jays injury picture
Friday’s injury update also included José Berríos, Max Scherzer and Alejandro Kirk. Berríos is scheduled to meet with Dr. Keith Meister on Tuesday after a recent MRI showed some inflammation and small changes to the original stress-fracture injury in his right elbow, and he has a 10.67 earned-run average over 14.1 innings split between Single-A Dunedin and Triple-A Buffalo in four rehab starts.
Scherzer received a cortisone shot in his forearm on Thursday and has been shut down from throwing for five days after landing on the injured list Apr. 27 with forearm tendinitis in his pitching arm and left ankle inflammation. Kirk has started taking dry swings as he works back from a fractured thumb suffered in the opening week of the season, with the original recovery timeline set at four-to-six weeks.
For Toronto, Barger is the first of that group who can change the active roster immediately. A Saturday activation would put him back in the lineup for a team that has not found much offense during the losing streak, and it gives the Blue Jays one more option before the weekend series moves deeper into the schedule.
