The ripple effect of Santander's injury shows the vulnerability of Blue Jays lineup

All offseason long the Toronto Blue Jays were said to be in the market to bring Kyle Tucker to the organization. It would have been a major signing and an impact bat added to a lineup that went to the World Series in 2025. It also would have made up for the loss of Bo Bichette, who signed for the New York Mets.

But without getting Tucker, and losing Bichette the fallback was the fact that they had Anthony Santander. He may have spent most of 2025 injured, but with a full spring under his belt, it was expected that Santander would be able to replace what they lost in Bichette, and even add to their ability to put the ball out of the ballpark.

That plan went off the rails before it could even get started as it was announced earlier this week that Santander would undergo left labral surgery and will be out 5-6 months, and the ripple effect of that loss shows that the Blue Jays are in a dangerous position of having a lineup that is very vulnerable to any more losses.

The ripple effect of Santander's injury shows the vulnerability of Blue Jays

Sure, the Blue Jays got to the World Series largely without Santander and Bichette in 2025. But combined that was a few weeks in September and October when they didn't have both players, compared to them starting a full season without either guy. Santander's injury though doesn't just mean they have to replace someone in the outfield, it means they are all of a sudden thinner at multiple positions.

Let's start in the outfield, yes the Blue Jays have layers of depth here, but none of that depth is a proven 40+ home run hitter at the MLB level. With Santander out, the every day outfield group will likely consist of Daulton Varsho in centre, with a combination of Addison Barger, Davis Schneider and Nathan Lukes in the corners.

Barger emerged as a left handed power hitting threat in the middle months of the season, but in what became his first full year in the big leagues, he started to sputter down the stretch. Varsho also missed two huge chunks of the year while he was hurt, and Lukes and Schneider, even at their best, don't provide the same kind of pop Santander does. Although, the positive here is this is a better defensive outfield alignment and so you can argue that the lack of power will be offset by the amount of balls that are gobbled up in the alley that Santander maybe wouldn't have gotten to.

There's also the risk of having to throw George Springer out in the field more often. Springer had a major comeback season in 2025, and earned a Silver Slugger for his efforts after he hit 32 home runs, and batted .309/.399/.560 with an OPS of .959. But a major reason for why he was able to be so productive was the fact that he got so many days as the team's designated hitter, and even then he had to battle through some injuries towards the end.

Springer probably won't need to see a ton of time in the outfield. But if there are injuries on the infield, that could force John Schneider's hand. Shortstop Andrés Giménez played 101 games last season after spending two stints on the IL. Should he go down, the likely scenario is that Ernie Clement slides from second to short and Davis Schneider takes over at the keystone. There's also a scenario where Kazuma Okamoto needs some time off and that forces once again Clement or Schneider or Barger to move to the hot corner, leaving a hole in the outfield.

That's where Myles Straw, Joey Loperfido or perhaps Jonatan Clase will also be relied upon to log some time in the outfield, but again, we're seeing how quickly things can unravel for this club. The optimist would say Loperfido could step in and build on his 2025 campaign in which the 26-year-old lefty hit .333/.379/.500 in 104 plate appearances.

That would truly be a best case scenario in the absence of Santander and make all of this feel like a moot point. But until he steps in a does it, there would be no harm in adding a veteran outfielder or infielder during camp to guard against some of those unknowns.