Anthony Santander’s rehab adds pressure to Davis Schneider’s latest Blue Jays call-up

Davis Schneider is back with the Toronto Blue Jays, but this call-up comes with a little more pressure than his other stints in Toronto. The Blue Jays recalled Schneider from Triple-A Buffalo on Monday after placing outfielder Rudy Martin Jr. on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain, giving the 26-year-old utilityman another chance to carve out a role.

But with Anthony Santander continuing his rehab assignment in Buffalo, Schneider’s latest opportunity comes with a potential deadline attached.

Santander is expected to remain with the Bisons through the rest of the week as he works his way back toward the Blue Jays. Manager John Schneider pointed to the best-case scenario as one where Santander continues to hit the ball hard, show home run power and prove he can handle time in the outfield. If that happens, Toronto will have another roster decision coming fast.

That is what makes this more than just another cameo for Davis Schneider because there are some real stakes at play with his spot on the big league roster. He is down to his final option and if the Blue Jays need to send him down again, which they might do when Santander is healthy, his next call up could be his final one with Toronto.

If they were to call him up again and send him back down, he would have to pass through waivers. For a player who once looked like one of the organization’s best development stories, that is a tough place to be.

Schneider’s 2023 emergence gave the Blue Jays a jolt at a time when they badly needed one, but his hold on a big-league role has loosened since then and he's struggled to find any consistency over the intervening years.

There is at least a more encouraging case for this call-up though. In August with Buffalo, Schneider hit .250/.421/.607 with three home runs, eight walks and eight strikeouts. That is the version of Schneider Toronto needs to see. There was also a version of Schneider where he was getting on base at an insane clip, but struggling to hit consistently. At this point, the Blue Jays might take that version as well as they look for a spark of offense late in September.

Davis Schneider may have a limited window to hold down his roster spot

Santander’s rehab removes some of the mystery from the upcoming roster situation because, barring a setback, the Blue Jays know a roster squeeze is coming. Schneider now has to use whatever opportunities he gets to remind the club why he is still worth carrying when that squeeze arrives.

If he can give the Blue Jays a big swing off the bench, or some quality at-bats against left-handed pitching that could make a huge difference down the stretch.

The Blue Jays have spent much of the season cycling through depth pieces in search of the right fit and Schneider has been part of the reason for the need to exercise different options. But he's been given another opportunity here and it could be one of the final ones he gets with Toronto.

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