Anthony Santander’s health a game-changer for Blue Jays lineup, says MLB insider

The Toronto Blue Jays were tied for 11th overall in MLB in 2025 in power production. Their 191 home runs were identical to the amount the Baltimore Orioles and Minnesota Twins produced, two teams who missed the playoffs last season.

And while the Blue Jays may not have added a perennial power bat to the order through free agency this winter, one MLB insider believes they already have the guy who will make up for that deficiency if he can stay healthy, and that player is Anthony Santander.

MLB insider sees a rebound season in store for Blue Jays' slugger

Jon Morosi told MLB Network that he thinks a bounce-back season by Santander will go a long way to boosting the Blue Jays lineup in 2026.

"They (the Blue Jays) felt so strongly about Santander a year ago that they gave him a multi-year deal with a very healthy AAV, he was one of the biggest prizes of that offseason," he says, pointing to the five-year $92.5 million deal Santander signed with Toronto. Morosi says if Santander stays healthy the rest of the Blue Jays lineup benefits.

"If he plays over 100 games in the outfield this year it will be a huge victory because that will allow George Springer to play more games as the DH and that was a key element in George's success a year ago because of the number of times he was able to be off his feet for at least half of the day. Limiting Springer's starts in the outfield but maximizing his number of at-bats is really crucial," says Morosi.

In essence, the Blue Jays would deploy an outfield of Santander and Addison Barger in the corners with Daulton Varsho in centerfield. If all three stay healthy there may be some defence sacrificed in whatever corner Santander plays in, but the trio could have enough power to make up for that. Barger and Varsho were third and fourth on the team respectively in 2025 in home runs. Barger, in his first full season in MLB hit 21 home runs and Varsho hit 20.

Let's also keep in mind that Varsho hit 20 in only 71 games, and Santander only played in 54, hitting six home runs. In the previous three years, Santander had hit 33 (2022), 28 (2023) and 44 (2024) home runs. It's safe to say this is an outfield where it's not impossible to see three guys hitting close to or more than 30 home runs in 2026. Not to mention, as Morosi suggested, having Springer at his peak all year should also contribute to those power numbers after leading the team with 32 bombs a year ago.

"Indications are right now that he's (Santander) expected to be healthy for the beginning of Spring Training, but we'll be watching very carefully his number of games played and plate appearances as he gets ready for a full major league season in 2026," says Morosi.

While the Blue Jays proved they didn't need to hit an astronomical amount of home runs in order to win ball games in 2025, it doesn't hurt to have those players around that can influence the game with one swing of the bat.