Anthony Santander's contract hasn't been aging well for the Blue Jays

From 2022 to 2024, Anthony Santander was one of the best power hitters in all of baseball and served as the heartbeat of the Baltimore Orioles lineup.

Both of those things made the Blue Jays' signing of Santander looks like a win for the Blue Jays, as they added a key power bat to their lineup along with weakening a division rival.

And while there's still a chance both those things could happen during Santander's time in Toronto, the first returns of his five-year, $92.5 million contract haven't been great.

Could the Blue Jays end up regret signing Anthony Santander?

While Santander's been a slow starter throughout his career, he can't lean on that excuse anymore since it's nearly June.

After going 0-for-4 against the Rangers on Monday, Santander is slashing .189/.274/.594 this year with six home runs and 18 RBI. He's been worth -0.6 bWAR.

While his six home runs are third-most on the Blue Jays, Santander's been nowhere near the kind of player that the Blue Jays expected when they inked him to his deal in the offseason.

His struggles this season get even worse when you look at his numbers through this juncture last year.

While Santander was only hitting .205 through 47 games last year, he had already slugged nine home runs with 29 RBI, which was a big reason why he had an OPS of .716. He had also walked 15 times compred to 37 strikeouts.

He's already struck out 51 times this year, though he does have 21 walks.

He's also missed nearly a stretch of games due to hip and back injuries, and recently said that his hip "wasn't 100%."

At this point, it's clear that Santander isn't comfortable in batter's box, and that manager John Schneider is trying everything he can to get his slugger back in a groove. He's tried playing him in the field more and moving his spot in the lineup. But none of it has resulted in success.

Things don't get much better once you take a look at his advanced stats as well. He's in the first percentile in expected batting average, the eighth percentile in expected batting average and the 21st percentile in barrel rate.

Not the kind of stats you want from a guy who is a key piece going forward.

He's only had seven multi-hit games this year, and has yet to have a game where he's had multiple extra-base hits.

While the Blue Jays lineup is beginning to find its groove (they have a team wRC+ of 111 in May), it's come in spite of Santander, not because of him.

That statement could end up being a silver lining, however. The Blue Jays are only one game below .500 after beating the Rangers on Monday, so they've been able to tread water will getting barely any production from Santander.

The only question now is whether he'll be able to turn things around. The Blue Jays season may end up depending on it.