Blue Jays activate Anthony Santander with shocking corresponding move

After months of rehab and patiently waiting, the Toronto Blue Jays finally have one of their key offseason free agent signings back to help with their upcoming postseason run. On Tuesday, the Blue Jays announced that Anthony Santander has been activated from the injured list and has joined the team ahead of their series against the Boston Red Sox.

That announcement was big news on its own as many were expecting that Santander wouldn’t be able to make it back prior to the end of the regular season.

However, it turned out that the corresponding roster move was even more surprising than the return of the star outfielder. To make room for Santander on the 40-man roster, the Jays designated for assignment former Cy Young finalist Alek Manoah.

Blue Jays activate Anthony Santander with shocking corresponding move

Expected to be one of the main driving forces of the Jays’ offense in 2025, Santander had actually been quite the disappointment in his first season with Toronto. Prior to his shoulder injury that has kept him out since the end of May, the 30-year-old outfielder posted just a feeble .179 average, .577 OPS, along with 14 runs scored, six home runs and 18 RBIs in 50 games played with the club.

Perhaps his shoulder issue had something to do with his effectiveness from the start. Nevertheless, Santander will now have the opportunity to redeem himself with the biggest games of the year coming up in the subsequent weeks.

As for the DFA of Manoah, that shocking move ultimately wraps up his unfathomable rapid fall from grace in just the past four seasons. The once-promising right-hander bursted onto the scene for the Jays back in 2021 after just compiling 35 innings of action in the minor leagues at the time.

From there, he rose to stardom instantly as he would put together impressive rookie and sophomore campaigns with Toronto, finishing eighth in AL Rookie of the Year in 2021 and third in AL Cy Young voting the very next season. At that point in time, it appeared as though they had finally found their best homegrown franchise pitcher since the late Roy Halladay.

However, Manoah would suddenly encounter command and control issues in 2023, leading to a disastrous season which included losing his role in the starting rotation as well as being sent to the minors to re-establish his game.

2024 was supposedly his redemption year, but an ill-timed torn UCL injury that would ultimately require Tommy John surgery would wipe out the bulk of his 2024 and all of his 2025 campaign as a result. In total, Manoah had amassed a 29-20 record with a 3.34 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, along with 412 strikeouts in 420 total innings over 75 starts with Toronto. 

With such numbers, many still believed that he still had the potential to recapture his magic and help the Jays starting rotation in the near future. However, despite working hard in his rehab to potentially return to the big league club this season to prove his worth once again, Manoah will now likely need to look elsewhere for that chance.