Blue Jays put Addison Barger on injured list and designate Eric Lauer for assignment

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TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Blue Jays put outfielder Addison Barger back on the injured list with right elbow inflammation and designated left-handed pitcher Eric Lauer for assignment on Monday.

Toronto also recalled outfielder Yohendrick Piñango from Triple-A Buffalo and selected right-handed pitcher Yariel Rodríguez to its major league roster before opening a three-game home series with the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays.

Barger had just been activated from the injured list on Saturday after missing just over a month with an elbow issue.

In his first game since April 5, Barger was playing right field when he caught a line drive and then threw the Los Angeles Angels’ Jorge Soler out at the plate with a 101.2-mph throw. That was the fastest outfield assist by any Blue Jays player since Statcast began tracking that data in 2015.

But he was scratched from Toronto’s lineup on Sunday due to right elbow soreness and returned to the injured list a day later. The injury list assignment is retroactive to Sunday.

Barger, 26, has gone just 1 for 22 at the plate in nine games this season after playing a big role in Toronto’s World Series run last year.

He hit .243 with a .301 on-base percentage, 21 homers and 74 RBIs in 135 games in 2025. He batted .367 with a .441 on-base percentage, .583 slugging percentage, three homers and nine RBIs in 17 postseason games.

In Toronto’s World Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Barger went 12 of 25 with a .536 on-base percentage. In a Game 1 victory, he hit the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history.

Lauer, 30, has gone 1-5 with a 6.69 earned-run average this season in eight appearances, including six starts. That follows a 2025 season in which he went 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA.

Piñango, 24, has gone 11 of 26 with no homers and four RBIs in 10 games with Toronto this season. He also has hit .288 with a .370 on-base percentage, three homers, 13 RBIs and two steals in 22 games with Buffalo.

Rodríguez, 29, is 1-0 with a 2.63 ERA in 11 appearances with Buffalo this season. He went 3-2 with a 3.08 ERA in 66 games with Toronto last year.

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