The slugger has been out since the first road trip of the season with ankle problems, but he's steadily working his way back.
The Toronto Blue Jays, having already gotten Trey Yesavage and George Springer back from injury this week, are one step closer to getting whole again.
As noted by Keegan Matheson of MLB.com on Thursday, slugging outfielder Addison Barger is set to begin his rehab assignment on Sunday. He's been out since the first road trip of the season with ankle discomfort.
Assuming he needs only a handful of games on his rehab assignment, and that all goes well, he should be back in the middle of next week.
Barger's rehab assignment will begin with Single-A Dunedin and it's unclear if he'll need to progress to Double-A New Hampshire or Triple-A Buffalo. With the minor league schedule off on Monday, it would make sense for him to fly to Buffalo on that day and play in Triple-A on Tuesday, which would put him closer to Toronto.
But none of that has been announced, that's just speculation.
A breakout star from last season's playoff run, Barger had 21 homers in 2025 and was looking to take the next step this year and be more consistent. His playing time has been more consistent in the wake of Bo Bichette's departure and Anthony Santander's injury, but his results have not matched yet. He's just 1-for-19 at the beginning of his campaign.
Once the injury is behind him, the hope is that he can start fresh again and get going.
He was a sixth-round pick of the Blue Jays in 2018 out of the Florida high school ranks and is a big part of the lineup.
In other Blue Jays news...
--Matheson also reports that Jose Berrios will throw his next bullpen with Buffalo, but it's still unclear where he'll make his next start. If he returns to the big leagues, that likely forces Eric Lauer back to the bullpen. The Blue Jays are still waiting on a return for Shane Bieber as well.
Berrios has been out all season with a stress fracture in his right elbow.
--The Blue Jays will play the Minnesota Twins again on Friday night with first pitch coming at 8:10 p.m. ET. Left-hander Patrick Corbin will pitch against right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson.
Corbin is 0-0 with a 3.72 ERA while Woods Richardson is 0-0 with a 6.30. The Blue Jays enter play at 14-17 after a 7-1 loss on Thursday, while the Twins are 14-18. They have lost 10 of their last 14 games.
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