How this player became the Blue Jays worst investment in 2025

In a recent article by Joel Reuter of the Bleacher Report, Reuter took a look at every MLB team’s worst bang-for-your-buck player (subscription required) for the 2025 season. For the Toronto Blue Jays, the unfortunate candidate may turn out to be quite the surprise, as it was veteran reliever Chad Green that received the distinct dishonor.

Some Jays fans could jump in and quickly argue that big offseason free agent signing Anthony Santander hasn't lived up to his contract yet. After all, the former All-Star outfielder had struggled mightily in his first year with the club, batting a pitiful .179 and a .577 OPS, with just 14 runs scored, five doubles, six home runs and 18 RBIS over 50 games played.

But he gets the benefit of the doubt as he has spent the majority of his time so far on the injured list due to left shoulder inflammation. More importantly, as Reuter pointed out, despite signing a five-year, $92.5 million contract with Toronto this past winter, a lot of that salary was deferred money and backloaded, as he actually earns only $9.1 million this season.

How this player became the Blue Jays worst investment in 2025

However, in the case for Green, he had been healthy and ready for the Blue Jays right from the start of the season. Unfortunately, he ended up putting up the worst numbers of his 10-year MLB career. In 45 relief appearances, Green sported a dismal 5.56 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, while giving up hard contact, leading to 27 earned runs including 14 home runs in just 43 2/3 innings of work. More notably, the 34-year-old right-hander gave up three runs or more in each of his last three outings before being designated for assignment at the trade deadline and subsequently released a few days later.

So unlike Santander, who is still with the Jays right now despite being on the IL, Green didn’t end up lasting the whole 2025 campaign with Toronto. As a result, his $10.5 million that he makes this year surpasses the salary total for Santander by just over a million and change.  

With most other Blue Jays providing some form of value to the team, especially for those earning greater than $10.5 million in 2025, it ultimately makes Green the Jays’ worst investment this year.