Anthony Santander was supposed to be part of the answer in Toronto. Instead, the Blue Jays have spent a full season waiting for a return that never came, and now they have to live with the reality that one of their biggest swings has delivered almost nothing so far.
Santander tried to make his way back to the majors earlier this month, but a back issue knocked him off course during his rehab and officially wiped out his 2026 season. For Toronto, that means a major investment has effectively disappeared for a second straight year. The club signed him to a five-year, $92.5 million deal before the 2025 season, a contract that included an opt-out and a team option that could push the total to $110 million over six seasons.
At the time, it made plenty of sense. Santander had just launched 44 home runs and driven in 102 runs for the Baltimore Orioles in 2024, and that capped an eight-year stretch in which he played 746 games, piled up 155 homers, posted a 9.5 fWAR, and carried a 113 wRC+ for Baltimore.
Toronto expected that kind of thump. It hasn’t gotten it.
Santander has appeared in only 54 regular-season games for the Blue Jays, and his line in 2025 sat at .175/.271/.294 with six home runs and 18 RBI before shoulder problems ended his season. Now an entire year of the deal has gone by without him even stepping onto a major-league field.
That doesn’t mean the book is closed on Santander. There’s still time for him to get healthy, rebuild his strength, and become the middle-of-the-order bat Toronto envisioned.
But every month that passes makes the fix feel less certain. The Blue Jays can’t build their lineup around a hope that keeps getting pushed farther down the road.
They already tried to patch the hole this season with Jesús Sánchez, who was supposed to bring some of the right-handed power and outfield help the roster was missing. It didn’t stick.
After 99 games, Toronto designated him for assignment. Sánchez hit .260/.318/.416 with eight home runs and 35 RBI, and his defense became harder and harder to carry.
There’s also more turnover coming. George Springer’s six-year, $150 million contract runs out after this season, and Toronto could still bring him back.
But at 37, he’s coming off a much quieter year than his standout 2025, when he hit .309 with 32 home runs and a .959 OPS. That leaves the Blue Jays staring at a lineup that could look very different in 2027.
And that’s where the Santander conversation gets more uncomfortable. Hindsight makes everything look obvious, and Toronto could not have known he would miss an entire season when it handed him that deal. The team needed power, and he was supposed to provide it.
Still, when you look back at the market, it’s fair to wonder what might have happened if the Blue Jays had gone a different direction.
Teoscar Hernández was there. He had already been a productive power bat for Toronto before being traded to Seattle, and after a strong 2024 season with the Dodgers, he went back to Los Angeles on a three-year, $66 million contract. That was less money than Santander’s deal, and it would have brought back a hitter Toronto knew could handle its ballpark - and maybe even some of the clubhouse chemistry, too.
Christian Walker was another route. The Astros gave the veteran first baseman three years and $60 million after he averaged 32 home runs and 94 RBI over the previous three seasons and won three straight Gold Gloves with the Diamondbacks.
He wasn’t a direct Santander stand-in with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first base, but Walker and Guerrero could have formed a serious first base/DH combination, with Springer taking more reps in the outfield. There’s also a reasonable argument that Springer’s big 2025 at the plate was helped by being limited defensively.
That debate can go in circles. The bigger issue is simpler: Toronto cannot assume Santander’s eventual return fixes everything.
If he misses another meaningful stretch in 2027, the Blue Jays need another real bat already waiting. The good news is that the 2027 free-agent class offers options.
Seiya Suzuki stands out right away. MLB.com notes that the Chicago outfielder could do especially well in a market that may be thin on available outfielders, and he’ll be 32.
Ian Happ is another name to keep in mind. He may not replace Santander’s home run totals one-for-one, but he brings a more complete game and has built a reputation as one of baseball’s better defensive left fielders, winning four straight Gold Gloves.
Randy Arozarena, Taylor Ward, and Trent Grisham are also part of the outfield conversation. Brandon Lowe belongs in the mix as well, and he’d give Toronto another path altogether.
The two-time All-Star has kept producing power at second base, with back-to-back 30-homer seasons and a .250/.320/.473 line with a 118 wRC+ over the last four years. He turned 32 this season.
A power-hitting infielder like Lowe could give the Blue Jays more flexibility if they decide to keep waiting on Santander. If Santander is mostly a DH anyway, Toronto has to decide whether it really wants to keep boxing itself in with that role.
If he gets healthy and starts producing, great. If not, the Blue Jays need to be ready. With several big salaries coming off the books, they’ll have room to do something interesting this winter.
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The Blue Jays 2026 season review was not gentle, and the harshest mark landed on the one area that never quite found its footing all year: the offense. Hitting coach David Popkins was handed an F in the report card, a reflection of how uneven Torontos attack looked over the course of the season, even as the clubs broader leadership drew more favorable evaluations.
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Some pitchers held up remarkably well under that pressure, giving the club stability when it needed it most, while others were left fighting inconsistency or the effects of all the wear and tear. The full assessment sorts through the bright spots and the setbacks across the staff, and it also leaves you with the obvious follow-up: which arms truly did enough to matter most when the Blue Jays were at their most chaotic? [Read more 🡒]