The Blue Jays spent big on Anthony Santander because they needed real thump in the middle of the lineup. Two years later, they’re still waiting for it to show up.
Toronto handed Santander a five-year, $92.5 million deal after he delivered a career-best 44 home runs for the Baltimore Orioles in 2024. The hope was obvious: pair that power with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and give the lineup a jolt.
That hasn’t happened. Santander has appeared in just 54 games over his first two seasons with the club, and the Blue Jays are now staring at three years left on the contract with some unease.
His first year in Toronto was wrecked by a left shoulder injury. He managed only 54 games and hit .175 with six homers, a steep drop from the kind of production that earned him the contract in the first place. Then came a torn labrum, repaired by surgery in February, and a season spent entirely in rehab.
Santander eventually went on a minor league assignment with Triple-A Buffalo in September, but the comeback stalled again when lower back soreness slowed him down. With the season already at that point, Toronto chose not to bring him back and let him finish the year at Triple-A. As a result, he heads into 2027 having missed a full MLB season, and he didn’t even get into any minor league games.
There is at least some good news for Toronto: the team expects Santander to be fully healthy by Spring Training. That would give him a clean runway into camp, something he has not had in a while.
And the Blue Jays need the help. They finished the 2026 season with only 152 home runs, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had arguably the worst season of his career. A healthy Santander could help patch part of that power shortage without Toronto having to chase another major purchase.
Still, the path back is not simple. "We want Tony to be thinking about playing the outfield and being an option for us there," Atkins said, according to MLB.com's Keegan Matheson.
That creates another layer to this whole situation. Santander’s bat is the selling point, but the outfield question remains wide open. There will be competition there, with Addison Barger expected back and several younger players pushing for MLB time.
Toronto cannot hand him an everyday job just because of the contract. He has to earn it, and he has to beat out the other options.
The payroll picture also leaves room for the Blue Jays to keep shopping. They have about $195 million committed to the 2027 payroll, which means Santander’s deal should not stop them from pursuing another proven hitter if they decide they need one.
After two disappointing seasons with Santander, Toronto can’t treat the 32-year-old like the answer to its offensive issues. At this point, he looks more like a possible bonus than a fix.
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Blue Jays Face A Vladimir Guerrero Jr Decision They Can't Miss
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.s 2026 season left the Blue Jays with a bigger question than they expected to be asking so soon. A player who had long been counted on as the middle-of-the-order anchor finished with a sharply reduced power output, and the drop-off was stark enough to force Toronto to take a hard look at where things stand heading into the offseason.
For the Blue Jays, this is not just about one down year. It is about whether Guerrero can get back to the kind of impact that once made him look like one of the leagues most reliable run producers, because that answer could shape how aggressively the club moves around him this winter. The organization has to decide how much faith to place in a rebound before it starts making larger roster choices. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Need One Big Outfield Answer After Offensive Collapse
After a season in which the Blue Jays finished last in several key offensive categories, the front office enters the winter with a clear priority: find ways to score more often and take pressure off a pitching staff that did plenty of heavy lifting. General manager Ross Atkins is expected to look for help, and the outfield is one of the places where Toronto can most obviously try to raise its ceiling.
The uncertainty only adds to the urgency. George Springer may be nearing the end of his career, while Anthony Santander and Addison Barger are both trying to rebound after injury-hit seasons, leaving the lineup with too many questions and not enough certainty. Toronto does not need a marginal tweak here, it needs an answer that can stabilize the group and help lift a lineup that fell flat too often. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Suddenly Have A Risky Second Base Decision To Make
Ross Atkins has already hinted that the Blue Jays may not view second base as a settled spot for the long term, saying Ernie Clement would need to earn playing time in 2027. That alone suggests Toronto could be looking ahead to a different kind of everyday answer at the position, one with a more established offensive ceiling than the club has gotten there recently.
One name that has surfaced in that conversation is Jazz Chisholm Jr., a player whose power-speed mix would certainly fit the profile of an upgrade if Toronto decided to shop in the higher end of the market. The appeal is obvious, but so are the questions, because Chisholm is a pending free agent with a track record that comes with real upside and real risk, and there is no sign yet that the Blue Jays are actually pushing hard in that direction. [Read more 🡒]