Addison Barger is expected to be “close” to ready for spring training, according to the Blue Jays. The slugger's elbow recovery is a rare one for a position player.

Barger underwent right elbow UCL repair surgery in late July. The procedure carried a six-month recovery timeline, pointing to a return around the start of February.

“Close” isn't the same as ready. It's safer to expect him to need a little more time once camp opens.

That's a lost season's worth of caution talking. He played just nine games in 2026 after ankle, elbow and back injuries piled up.

He hit .045 before a back stress reaction stalled him in late June. Then the elbow surgery ended his year.

Why is this tricky? Because a position player's throwing arm has to be fully healthy before he can take the field.

Addison Barger's throwing arm will decide his 2027 role

Bryce Harper once came back quickly from Tommy John surgery by serving as a DH. Barger isn't a Harper-calibre hitter, so the Jays need his glove and arm back, too.

The 2025 version is why this matters. He hit 21 home runs and added a pinch-hit grand slam in the World Series.

John Schneider later called Barger's absence one of the injuries that hurt the lineup most.

Don't rush him. If he can play the majority of 2027, that's a win, and pushing a throwing arm back into right field too early is how one lost season becomes two.

Bringing him back early is like walking on a freshly patched driveway. Give it a few more days, or you'll be repaving the whole thing.

His role is still uncertain. He's projected in the outfield, but moving him to second base has been floated as a way to ease the strain on the elbow.

That makes the outfield math even more important. Toronto needs bats like Seiya Suzuki or Randy Arozarena that don't depend on his timeline.

If Barger is ready by April, the Jays get a power bat back for free. If he isn't, Ross Atkins had better have already built a lineup that doesn't need him.