Barger was drafted by the
Toronto Blue Jays in the sixth round of the
2018 Major League Baseball draft. He made his professional debut that season with the
Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Blue Jays, recording a .194
batting average, three
home runs, and 18
runs batted in (RBI). Barger played 2019 with the
Rookie Advanced Bluefield Blue Jays of the
Appalachian League, hitting .283 with two home runs and eight RBI in 13 games. He returned in 2021 to play for the
Low-A Dunedin Blue Jays and
High-A Vancouver Canadians, where he hit .244 with 18 home runs and 82 RBI in 96 games. He started 2022 with Vancouver before being promoted to the
Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, and later briefly to the
Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. In a career-high 124 games, Barger recorded a .308 batting average, 26 home runs, and 91 RBI. In 94 total games that season, he hit .247 with nine home runs and 47 RBI. On April 24, 2024, Barger was promoted to the major leagues for the first time after
Kevin Kiermaier was placed on the injured list. Barger collected his first major league hit on April 29 against the
Kansas City Royals. On July 29, he hit his first MLB home run in a game against the
Baltimore Orioles. In 69 appearances for the Blue Jays during his rookie campaign, Barger batted .197/.250/.351 with seven home runs, 28 RBI, and two stolen bases. Barger was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo to begin the 2025 season. He was recalled back to the Blue Jays on April 15. In Game 1 of the
2025 World Series against the
Los Angeles Dodgers, Barger hit his first career
grand slam, while pinch-hitting for
Davis Schneider. It was the first grand slam hit by a pinch hitter in World Series history, as well as the first in Blue Jays postseason history. Barger revealed that he had slept the night before on the pullout sofa in Schneider's room at the Toronto Marriott City Centre, a story which went viral and prompted the hotel to display the sofa in the lobby next week. The Blue Jays eventually lost in seven games. ==Personal life==