Blue Jays slugger homers in rehab start with Buffalo

If he hopes to make it back to the majors this season, Anthony Santander is certainly off to a great start. The injured Blue Jays outfielder finally began a rehab assignment Thursday with Buffalo, hitting a home run and drawing two walks in five plate appearances. Santander crushed an 81-mph changeup 396 feet for a solo shot in the Bisons' 8-7 loss to the Rochester Red Wings.

Santander, who hasn't played since May 29 thanks to a shoulder injury, was supposed to start a rehab assignment earlier this week. But the plan was delayed when Santander started feeling some back tightness.

The current plan is to have Santander serve as DH for two more games with the Bisons, then a couple of games in right or left field. The Bisons' season ends Sept. 21 while the MLB season ends a week later.

With his back seemingly no longer a concern, Santander served as designated hitter and batted second Thursday night for Triple-A Buffalo. A switch hitter, Santander only batted left handed, since he only faced right-handed pitchers from the Red Wings.

The lack of right-handed swings is important, because according to Toronto manager John Schneider, the shoulder injury only affected Santander's right-handed swing. But the biggest concern is that there is less than three weeks left in the season and time is running out for a Santander return. As a result, Schneider told the Canadian Press, while it's unlikely to happen, the Blue Jays would at least consider having Santander bat only as a left-handed hitter.

Ideally, a team would want a guy who hit 44 home runs last year back playing full time as soon as possible. Having Santander hit just left-handed would likely limit his playing time, but there are some reasons why that may not be a bad thing. The Blue Jays have been scoring runs with the best of teams this season without Santander, largely thanks to contributions from everyone on the roster. Limiting Santander would allow that to continue.

It's also no secret that Santander has struggled this season. In 50 games, the 30-year-old has posted a .179/.273/.304 slash line with a .577 OPS, which is almost 200 points below his career total. Santander has also hit just six home runs in 184 at-bats and 209 plate appearances, a 2.9 home run percentage. That's below his career mark of 4.8 percent and the 6.6 percent Santander posted last season.

Still, there's a chance Santander could return to being a source of power, which is why the Blue Jays signed him to a five-year contract. Toronto has played much better since Santander last suited up, thanks in part to an offense that is currently fourth in the majors with 727 runs scored. Perhaps a better-performing lineup may help Santander.

It took awhile, but Santander taking swings in a game is a good start. But he needs to make progress quickly, because time is running out if he is to have any impact on the 2025 season.