Fastball

Toronto Blue Jays Option Rookie to Minor Leagues in Brutal Fashion on Saturday

The Toronto Blue Jays have re-instated veteran Justin Turner from the paternity list but it came at the expense of rookie Addison Barger, who was sent to Triple-A in brutal fashion. Let's explain:

Brady Farkas

Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Addison Barger (47) reacts after receiving a walk against the Houston Astros in the eighth inning at Rogers Centre.
Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Addison Barger (47) reacts after receiving a walk against the Houston Astros in the eighth inning at Rogers Centre. / Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
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The Toronto Blue Jays re-instated veteran designated hitter Justin Turner from the paternity list on Saturday afternoon. In doing so, they sent down rookie Addison Barger to Triple-A Buffalo.

It's terrible timing for Barger, who is a Seattle-area native and likely had friends and family coming to the series this weekend. Not even 24 hours earlier, the Blue Jays social media account made a big deal about promoting the fact that Barger was starting in right field in the ballpark he grew up going to.

That just shows you the cruel nature of baseball. As romantic as we want it to be, it really is a business.

Barger is a 24-year-old infielder who was drafted out of the Florida high school ranks (despite being from Bellvue, WA). He was a sixth round pick in 2018 and made his major league debut earlier this year.

So far, through 60 major league at-bats, he's hitting .150 with no homers and four RBI. He's got one stolen base. He is currently the No. 6 prospect in the organization.

The following comes from a portion of his MLB.com prospect profile:

Starting with a leg kick inspired by Ichiro Suzuki, Barger’s swing, like the rest of his game, is all strength and all effort. This can leave holes for pitchers to expose, which leads to high strikeout totals, so he needs the power to balance that out. His defensive profile now is third base and right field, where his throwing arm can really shine. Barger will always be a pull-power hitter, but got too pull-happy at times in 2023, so a slightly more balanced approach could open up another level of his game.

The Blue Jays and Mariners play on Saturday at 4:10 p.m. ET.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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