This Might Be Anthony Santander’s Last Real Chance in Toronto

Anthony Santander is about to start over again, but not in the way the Jays hoped when they signed him in January 2025.

Santander was supposed to be a middle-of-the-order presence with real power. Instead, as he inches back toward a bat-in-hands routine, he feels more like a question mark than an answer.

MLB’s Keegan Matheson relayed what John Schneider told reporters on Thursday: Santander is scheduled to start hitting “either this weekend or next,” and “there’s a shot he could definitely be a factor.”

That doesn’t really tell us much, other than he is able to swing a bat.

Like we’ve seen with some of the pitching staff, the Jays are not in a hurry to get players back on the field. Instead, they are taking a safer, health-first approach. That is especially true with Santander, who might have returned a bit too quickly last year, eventually landing him back on the injured list.

Before signing with the Jays, Santander was one of baseball’s more productive switch-hitting sluggers.

Across eight seasons in Baltimore, Santander was both consistent and quietly elite in bursts. He hit 33 home runs in 2022, 28 in 2023, and then exploded for 44 in 2024. That year, he also drove in 102 and had an .814 OPS, placing him among the game’s most dangerous hitters.

He made the All-Star team. He won a Silver Slugger. He did it as a switch-hitter, joining an exclusive historical group to ever reach that home run total.

When he was signed, the Jays were expecting a middle-of-the-lineup bat to force opposing pitchers to give Vladimir Guerrero Jr. some pitches to hit. Santander has a .241 average over his career with 161 home runs and a .763 OPS.

Santander signed a five-year, $92.5 million deal. It carries an average annual value of $18.5 million, with options and deferrals that stretch the commitment even further.

There clearly was an expectation that he could keep up his later-career breakout.

So far, in limited action, he has stumbled. In his first season with the Blue Jays, he struggled immediately. In 54 games, he hit .175 with six home runs and a .565 OPS.

Most of his woes have been attributed to injury.

As a Jay, Santander has never looked fully right, even before the injuries were made public. His bad shoulder eventually required labral surgery earlier this year.

There’s no question the Jays would dearly love the 44-home-run version of Santander to show up tomorrow, but it is late June, and his ramp-up, in the best-case scenario, wouldn’t culminate in a major league at-bat until August.

And while the focus has understandably been on health, the bigger question is harder to answer.

If Anthony Santander comes back, can he even be that impact player?

The last version of Santander was one of the least productive stretches of his career. His 2025 OPS sat at .565, far below his career .762 mark, and his power output cratered.

Is this recovering version of Santander his last real chance to return to form? Or does his contract guarantee that the Blue Jays will keep giving him runway, no matter how crowded things get?

The 2026 Blue Jays are not desperate for outfield help. They are juggling it. George Springer has shifted into a regular DH role, and Daulton Varsho has returned to a mix that already included Nathan Lukes, Myles Straw, and others.

Even before factoring in Santander’s absence, this was a roster where spots in the outfield were at a premium.

Santander doesn’t provide a lot of versatility. If his bat doesn’t materialize, then does the team need a below-average fielder and runner in the outfield? Yohendrick Piñango and Jesús Sánchez have more speed and have demonstrated they have pop too.

Don’t forget that Addison Barger is also nearing a return.

So if Santander comes back and looks like the 2025 version of himself, where exactly does he play?

When a team commits nearly $100 million to a player, it tends to create opportunity. The Blue Jays did not sign Santander to be a bench piece or a situational bat. They signed him to make an impact.

The Jays will be in a bind if he returns as the 2025 version. He is owed significant money through 2029, and there won’t be a market for his services.

His return will not just put pressure on his (recovering) shoulders to perform, but also on the team to figure out what to do.

If there is any positive in this situation, it is that Santander needs a long runway to work himself into shape. There is no rush for anyone, and that might push a potential return beyond this season.

Santander is not just working towards 2026; he’ll also be working toward 2027 and beyond.

If he flashes the old power, even inconsistently, this could be a happy story. The Blue Jays can point to health as the missing piece, trust the track record, and plan accordingly.

If he does not, his deal will go down as one of the worst in team history.

Santander is not returning to a team waiting for him to save them. He is returning to a team that has learned to survive without him.

When Schneider says there is a shot Santander could be a factor, the wording was probably deliberate.

A shot.

Because right now, that is exactly what this is.

A shot that the player who hit 44 home runs not long ago can show up again. A shot that the shoulder heals cleanly, that the swing returns, that the timing clicks before the season runs out. A shot that the contract is worth it.

The Jays will continue to give him a shot. His contract guarantees that. Whether he turns it into something more will decide everything.