The Toronto Blue Jays have fought their way to where they are now. The reigning winners of the American League pennant have struggled to begin the year. Their stars aren’t playing well, and many of their contributors have been injured. It’s affected the club dramatically, causing them to stumble to third place in the AL East with an 18-22 record.
The Heralded Return of Barger
That’s why the return of Addison Barger was such wonderful news. He was a key piece of last season’s team, with 21 home runs in the regular season and a .480 batting average in the World Series. It was hoped that his return would be a catalyst to spark the Jays back to their winning ways.
Sadly, it was not to be. Barger played in just one game before being placed on the 10-day injured list with inflammation in his right elbow. It’s unclear how long he’ll be out, but his absence is a notable one for Toronto. On Saturday, he had the fastest outfield assist in MLB this season (101.2 mph) to get Jorge Soler out at the plate on a sacrifice fly attempt.
His return can’t come soon enough for the Jays. Despite his abysmal .045 batting average this season, it’s important to note the small sample size (22 at-bats) — not nearly enough to say that Barger can’t replicate his breakout numbers from 2025.
Bulk Relief Role Not Working Out
On the other hand, swingman Eric Lauer was designated for assignment after getting off to a rough start in 2026. He’s pitching to a 6.69 ERA across 36 1/3 innings and has an abnormally high 1.49 WHIP.
Similar to Barger, Lauer had a breakout 2025 campaign. The left-hander posted a career-low 3.18 ERA across 104 2/3 innings. He wasn’t quiet about his desire to remain as a starter despite switching between the starting and relief roles. With the Blue Jays struggling with a number of injuries to their starting group, Lauer was mostly given his wish, but still had to prove himself. He has not done a good job of that.
The DFA was not entirely unexpected in that regard, seeming to be a much-needed shake-up for the Blue Jays as they try to right the ship and take charge in a middling American League. Whether or not they can do that remains to be seen, but these moves at least mark an attempt to do so.
Who’s Taking Their Place?
In corresponding moves, outfielder Yohendrick Piñango was recalled from Triple-A and right-hander Yariel Rodríguez was selected to Toronto’s roster. The two don’t have an incredible amount of major-league experience under their belts, yet have impressed thus far.
Piñango has played in 10 games for the Jays this year, posting a .423/.444/.462 slash line. He’s been treated more as a depth piece in Triple-A than as a regular contributor. It’s possible, though, that he could earn a bigger role with the club if he continues to post those kinds of numbers. He’s put up more down-to-earth (though still impressive) numbers in Triple-A, slashing .288/.370/.488 in 22 games this year.
Rodríguez has spent plenty of time with Toronto the last two years. The righty started 21 games for the club in ’24 and pitched in relief in ’25. His results were mostly solid, though he was better as a back-end starter. His performance has been quite similar to Lauer’s, posting a 4.47 ERA across his starts in ’24 and a 3.08 mark in ’25 out of the bullpen.
He’s impressed in the minors, with a 2.63 ERA across 11 games this season. Rodríguez only started one of those games, so it seems likely he will act as a bulk reliever in a similar fashion to Lauer. But how he’s deployed remains to be seen. If the two can perform well, it would be a major boost for the Blue Jays.
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