Toronto Blue Jays 2026 Position Analysis: Designated Hitter

[Mike LeSage]

Jays Centre is taking a close look at every position on the Toronto Blue Jays heading into the 2026 season. Check out prior entries in the series here:

• Catcher
• First Base
• Second Base
• Shortstop
• Third Base
• Left Field
• Right Field

Toronto Blue Jays Designated Hitters at a Glance

• Starter: George Springer
• Backup: Anthony Santander
• Just Passing Through: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Alejandro Kirk, anyone rehabbing an injury
• First Man Up: Eloy Jiménez

George Springer won the Silver Slugger Award last season behind a resurgent campaign at age 35. He was hot out of the gates and stayed that way until the season ended. In his ‘slumpiest’ month (June), he still put up a 108 wRC+ (indicating he was 8% better than the league average). In each of July, August, September and October, he was over 200. He led all Blue Jays in Wins Above Replacement (both the Baseball Reference and FanGraphs versions), hit more homers (32) than anyone on the team, and led the club in stolen bases (18) and OPS+ (161). I say if he repeats a season like that, we let him rename the position to whatever he wants.

Springer was at his best when hitting in the DH spot, but he only played about half of the Jays’ games there. He also made appearances in all three outfield spots. While the bat stayed hot when Springer was in the field, his time on the defensive side of the ball was below average. He made 57 appearances across the outfield, and you can choose your favourite metric or the good ol’ eye test – it seems pretty clear Springer’s best spot in the lineup is at the DH.

The second most DH appearances on the team went to the newly acquired Anthony Santander, who played 30 games at DH (plus an additional 23 in the field). Santander never looked right at the plate, and a (practically) season-ending trip to the IL in May suggests he was probably playing hurt from the beginning (with his outfield wall collision being the proverbial camel’s straw). Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alejandro Kirk made 23 and seven appearances at DH, respectively, mainly as maintenance days from their usual position. No one else remaining on the team made more than one.

The real question around the DH spot this season will be: Can Springer do it again?

Before the news broke that Santander would be missing the majority of this season, both Springer and the Jays as an organization talked about rotating players through the field and DH spots. Springer has continually expressed a desire to play the field, and it will be up to manager John Schnieder to find the right balance of keeping one of his star players happy, fresh and productive. Based on last season, I’d say that can be accomplished.

Outside of something happening to another player that necessitates an extended stay at DH, there isn’t anyone healthy on the roster that would threaten Springer’s hold on the position. If Springer went down, however, there also isn’t a clear successor. The Jays have plenty of capable players who could be comfortably rotated through the DH spot if Springer needs a few maintenance days. If he were to see an extended absence from the lineup, one interesting name to consider is Eloy Jiménez. Bryan Jaeger covered how Jiménez could fit on the roster, and Jiménez had more plate appearances at DH in spring training than any other Blue Jay (43 vs Springer’s 41; no other Jay had more than five). That still doesn’t necessarily put him first in line for the call-up, but if he starts the year hot in Buffalo and Springer struggles, there might be some temptation to shake things up.

The DH, or OP if you prefer, is Springer’s to lose, and there’s nothing to suggest that this will be the year that it happens. 

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