The Toronto Blue Jays may not need a lot of help to score runs these days, but there’s still a player on the roster who would love to start contributing.
Veteran outfielder Anthony Santander signed a five-year, $92.5 million contract with the Blue Jays before the season, including a team option for 2030. A year after making his first All-Star team as a member of the rival Baltimore Orioles, he figured to be a key addition to the middle of the order.
Instead, Santander stumbled out of the gate, putting up a .577 OPS in his first 50 games, then landed on the injured list with a partially dislocated left shoulder. While the offense hasn’t skipped a beat without him, it’s certainly been a frustrating year for Santander individually.
Toronto is playoff bound, and Santander would surely like to wipe away memories of his ugly start with a big postseason moment or two. But can he work his way back quickly enough to appear in a game before the regular season concludes?
On Thursday, The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon reported that Santander has made “a lot of progress” in the last two weeks, per manager John Schneider, but still has to move on to facing live pitching, then complete a minor league rehab assignment.
“I think a lot will be figured out when he gets playing in minor-league games,” Schneider said, per Bannon.
If Santander does return, it will force a difficult roster decision. He was frequently serving as the designated hitter early in the season, but while he’s been gone, veteran George Springer has been taking the majority of those at-bats and finding great success.
The last game any Blue Jays minor league affiliate plays is Sept. 21, so there are only a few weeks remaining for Santander to progress to the aforementioned rehab stint.
It’s an intriguing subplot to follow for a team already under plenty of pressure to succeed in October after some notable recent flameouts.
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