TORONTO -- Addison Barger is no longer a collection of small moments.
With one big, loud swing in the eighth inning Sunday, Barger turned a letdown loss into an 8-4 win and a series sweep of the A’s. Finally, the Blue Jays have created some space between themselves and that magnetic .500 mark at 31-28. Finally, Barger is putting it all together in the big leagues.
We’ve seen flashes of this for years now, first bubbling up across a few springs in Dunedin, Fla. Barger, built like a linebacker, does everything in extremes. He swings harder than any hitter, throws harder than most of the hitters and runs like there’s a million dollars dangling an inch out of his reach. Those were all just pieces waiting to be put together, though. This is what the Blue Jays always dreamed it would look like.
“Watching him on both sides of the ball has been really cool,” manager John Schneider said. “He’s confident as we’ve ever seen him and he’s playing really well at third. It’s really cool to watch this unfold. He’s talented, and when it starts to click like this, you kind of get sucked into every at-bat. You think he’s going to do something. Credit to him, man, he’s worked his tail off and he’s taking advantage of an opportunity.”
Barger has homered in three consecutive games now, boosting his OPS to .816, and his defense at third base has been rock solid. That part may be even more impressive than his hitting because it requires a sense of calm and control, two words that have rarely stuck to Barger over the years. His big draw has always been the bat, though, and his ability to change a game in an instant.
This also shows us, once again, the true beauty of power, which can wipe away any mistake. In the fifth inning, the Blue Jays’ rally was cut short by a bizarre play to end the frame after Alejandro Kirk doubled home the second run of the game. As George Springer coasted into third, though, he hit the bag and allowed his momentum to carry him into a few short hops atop third base. Max Schuemann wisely tagged Springer, and after a replay review, the inning was over in stunning fashion.
That could have been the story -- a mental lapse costing the Blue Jays a series sweep and dragging them one game back towards .500 again -- but Barger had other plans.
“This is pretty damn good,” Schneider said. “A four-game sweep is pretty hard to do, no matter what. We swung the bats extremely well. It started slow today, but just an awesome effort up and down there in the eighth inning. Barger just had a huge series. I can’t say enough about how he’s swinging it.”
When Barger came up from Triple-A Buffalo on April 15, the Blue Jays were more selective with their spots. He’s forced the team’s hand, though, and Schneider has no other choice but to write his name on the lineup card every game. They’re even planning around Barger and his emergence as Andrés Giménez works his way back from a right quad injury, with a return likely on Tuesday.
Giménez’s return will bump Ernie Clement off second base, but Clement has been playing his best ball of the season, too. Because of this, Schneider and the Blue Jays are considering using Barger back in right field more often, where his cannon arm really shines, and giving Springer more days at DH. Barger isn’t just being slid into certain spots on certain days, he’s becoming a central piece of the plan itself.
“You can’t throw a cookie in there on him,” said Kevin Gausman, who gave the Blue Jays 4 2/3 innings of three-run ball. “I think from talking to all of the guys around here, the talent has always been there. It’s just been a matter of getting the reps at the Major League level.”
Perhaps most impressive is the year-to-year jump we’re seeing, because those reps were already wide open a year ago, but Barger only managed to give the Blue Jays a .601 OPS over 69 games last season. The flashes were there, though, which is why the Blue Jays have always held onto the great hope Barger represents.
It’s rare for young players like Barger to put it all together and it’s even harder for these types of players to sustain that success, but this is what it looks like when it starts.