Addison Barger gave John Schneider a mixed injury update, and the Blue Jays are still waiting on his next step.
Schneider said Barger will soon fly to Toronto to be checked by the club's medical staff before any rehab assignment begins, which turns this into more than a routine injured list note.
The good news is still there. Schneider said Barger's throwing is fine, so the issue is not blocking him from making defensive throws or getting the ball out of his hand.
The problem is what happens when he swings. Schneider said soreness has kept creeping in while Barger has been hitting during rehab, and that changes the pace of everything.
That matters because Toronto needs answers, not just optimism. When a player has to pause and get re-evaluated before a rehab assignment, the return date stops feeling close.
MLB's official injury tracker listed Barger's expected return as early to mid July on June 24, but this latest check-in shows the Blue Jays still have work to do before he gets there.
He has been on the injured list with right elbow inflammation since May 11, retroactive to May 10, and the stop-start nature of this recovery is now the real story.
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Toronto still needs Addison Barger's bat
Barger has only appeared in 9 games this season, so the Blue Jays have not had much chance to see whether he could settle into a steady role before the elbow issue cut him off.
His numbers are rough on the surface. He is batting .045 with a .305 OPS in 22 at-bats, but that sample is so small that the larger concern is health, not production.
Toronto's bigger issue is lineup balance. Barger gives the club a left-handed bat with power, and that kind of option matters when a team is trying to patch together offense over a long summer.
The Blue Jays were 39-41 entering Thursday, which leaves little margin for letting useful pieces drift deeper into the background. That is why this update carries some weight.
For Schneider, the next few days are less about a rehab box score and more about whether Barger can swing without that soreness showing up again. That is the checkpoint that counts.
If the medical staff clears him, the rehab assignment can finally begin and the conversation changes fast. Until then, Barger is still stuck in the evaluation phase, and the Blue Jays are still waiting on a bat they could use.
Should the Blue Jays stay patient with Addison Barger's rehab?
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