Blue Jays can’t keep waiting for Anthony Santander to save their lineup

Anthony Santander attempted to work his way back to the big leagues earlier this month. However, a back issue interrupt his rehab and the slugging outfielder has officially missed the entire 2026 season.

For the Toronto Blue Jays, that's a pretty significant lost investment.

Toronto signed Santander to a five-year, $92.5 million contract before the 2025 season, with the deal including an opt-out and a team option that could ultimately make it worth $110 million over six seasons. It looked like a great contract at the time considering he had just smashed 44 home runs and driven in 102 runs for the Baltimore Orioles in 2024.

That capped off an eight year run where Santander played in 746 games and produced a 9.5 fWAR for the Orioles with 155 home runs and a 113 wRC+. The Blue Jays haven't received a sliver of that production.

Instead, Santander has played just 54 regular-season games for Toronto where he has hit .175/.271/.294 with six home runs and 18 RBI in 2025 before his shoulder problems eventually ended his season.

Now an entire year of the contract has passed without Santander stepping onto a major-league field.

That's not to say Santander won't come back and be productive. There is still plenty of time for him to get healthy, regain his strength and become the middle-of-the-order bat the Blue Jays thought they were signing. But the problem is, the longer they wait, the less likely they get an actual solution to their problem.

Toronto already tried to find an alternative this season. Jesús Sánchez was supposed to provide some of the right-handed power and outfield production the Blue Jays were missing. Instead, after 99 games, Toronto designated him for assignment. Sánchez hit .260/.318/.416 with eight home runs and 35 RBI, while his defensive struggles became an increasingly difficult problem.

And the Blue Jays could have another hole to fill in the outfield and designated-hitter mix with George Springer heading toward free agency.

Springer's six-year, $150 million contract expires after this season, and while the Blue Jays could still decide to bring him back. At 37, Springer is coming off a considerably quieter season than his outstanding 2025 campaign, when he hit .309 with 32 home runs and a .959 OPS.

That potentially leaves Toronto with a very different-looking lineup heading into 2027.

What if Toronto had spent Anthony Santander's money differently?

Hindsight is always 20/20, and it's unfair to pretend Toronto knew Santander would miss an entire season when it signed him. They needed power and Santander was supposed to give them that.

But when you look back at the free-agent market and see some of the alternatives who were available, it's fair to wonder what the Blue Jays' roster might look like if they had taken a different path.

There was Teoscar Hernández, who had already been a productive power hitter for the Blue Jays before being traded to Seattle. After an excellent 2024 season with the Dodgers, he re-signed in Los Angeles for three years and $66 million.

That's less total money than Santander received, and it would have brought back a player Toronto knew could hit in its ballpark and maybe added to some of the club house comradery.

Christian Walker was another option. The Astros signed the veteran first baseman to a three-year, $60 million contract after he had averaged 32 home runs and 94 RBI over the previous three seasons while winning three consecutive Gold Gloves with the Diamondbacks.

Walker obviously wasn't a direct Santander replacement with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. occupying first base, but the two could have formed a really powerful first base / DH tandem with Springer taking more reps in the outfield. Though there is a case to be made that Springer's productive year at the plate in 2025 was thanks to the fact they limited him in the field.

We can talk in circles about that, but the biggest mistake the Blue Jays could make this offseason would be assuming that Santander's return automatically solves their problems.

If Santander spends another significant portion of 2027 on the injured list, Toronto needs to have another legitimate offensive option already in place. Fortunately, the 2027 free-agent class gives them several ways to approach that problem.

Seiya Suzuki immediately jumps out. The Chicago outfielder is one of the more prominent names expected to reach free agency, and MLB.com notes that the 32-year-old could do particularly well in a market that is expected to have a relatively weak group of available outfielders.

Ian Happ is another possibility. Happ isn't necessarily the player who would replace Santander's home-run production one-for-one, but he brings a more well-rounded skill set and has established himself as one of the better defensive left fielders in baseball, winning four consecutive Gold Glove Awards.

Randy Arozarena, Taylor Ward, and Trent Grisham are also worth watching in the outfield mix, while someone like Brandon Lowe could help in another area.

The two-time All-Star has continued to provide power at second base. He's hit 30+ home runs in back-to-back seasons and has slashed .250/.320/.473 with a 118 wRC+ over the last four years. Though he turned 32-years-old this season.

A power hitting infielder could allow the Blue Jays to expand their lineup in other ways if they are dead set on waiting on Santander. He'll likely be mostly limited to DH duties regardless and the Blue Jays have to ask themselves, do they really want to handcuff their manager for another season by limiting his options with this role?

If Santander comes back healthy and productive, great. If he doesn't, the Blue Jays need to be ready and with several big salaries coming off the books, they've got some flexibility to do some interesting things this winter. 

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