Anthony Santander’s Return to the Blue Jays Will Bring Questions

Santander put up nearly the same awful stats both at home and on the road, and he has hardly been a part of the incredibly successful season that the Jays have enjoyed in 2025. While names like Addison Barger, Joey Loperfido, Myles Straw, and Nathan Lukes have endeared themselves to Blue Jays fans, Santander still feels like somewhat of a stranger.

If there’s a chance Santander could return from his rehab stint before the regular season ends, what would he have to do to re-earn a starting role on this team? Would he be blindly given the job and not have to earn it?

These are uncertainties that may not be resolved until the time comes, but it’s worth thinking about whether the Jays will be better or worse with their $92.5 million man in October.

What Would Santander’s Return Look Like?

Santander’s potential return from the IL brings with it many questions, prominently whether he will return to his 2024 form or if he’ll have a starting role on the team with any consistency.

The Blue Jays are currently 90-66 with six games left to play in the regular season against the Red Sox and Rays. They clinched a playoff spot but not the AL East, so these aren’t exactly meaningless games.

So, this raises the question: Could a healthy Anthony Santander be plugged into this Blue Jays lineup? Before the season, this would have been an insane question to ask, but now it’s actually a bit complicated. For one, where would the Jays rather have Santander defensively than any of their other options?

The only viable spots for him are left and right field. He can also DH, but George Springer has been Toronto’s designated hitter for a large part of the season. What’s more, Bo Bichette might need to be the permanent DH if he is able to return from injury for the playoffs. In that case, Santander would have to play the outfield.

The Jays have been using a combination of Lukes, Barger, and Davis Schneider to fill the corner outfield spots, and they all field better on average than Santander.

Daulton Varsho and Myles Straw both rank among the league’s best fielders in virtually every defensive metric: OAA, DRS, Fielding Run Value, etc. One of those two (likely Straw) can also play a corner outfield spot as needed, which would give Santander even more competition for playing time.

Barger and Lukes are tied for third in all of MLB in Baseball Savant’s Arm Value (+4), so Santander is definitely not a better defensive option than either of them.

On any given day, the Jays’ outfield can consist of almost any combination of three outfielders, but in terms of defensive value, Santander is not cracking the shortlist.

Last season, his fielding graded out as below average. His -2 OAA ranked in the 29th percentile of the league.

Right now, the Blue Jays have by far the highest team FRV with a mark of +43. The Chicago Cubs, the next closest team, are at +38. This Jays team is on its way to its third consecutive team Gold Glove Award, and Santander just doesn’t make sense defensively right now.

Will Santander Still Have It?

Of course, Anthony Santander has never really been much of a defense-first player, aside from the 2020 season. He’s always been an offensive-centric player whose ability to hit the ball shines above all else, but how’s his hitting keeping up?

In 10 games at the Triple-A level with the Buffalo Bisons, Santander is slashing .219/.342/.469 with a 117 wRC+ over his first 38 plate appearances coming off the IL.

In his second plate appearance with the Bisons, he hit a 396-foot home run that left the bat at over 100 mph, so it’s safe to say that he still has that power stroke.

Despite the fact that Santander is finishing up his rehab for a shoulder injury, he could still provide some power to the Blue Jays – although this is a team that hasn’t needed to rely on the long ball to succeed this season. The Jays’ 182 home runs this season are tied for the 12th-most in MLB, but they’ve notched the American League’s best record through this point without needing an excess of power night in and night out.

Santander’s return to the lineup, or at least to the locker room, could serve as a strong point of support for the Jays in the final week of the regular season and into the playoffs. Whether he’s healthy enough to play the field, serve as the DH, or just play the role of a pinch hitter in late-game scenarios, his presence might be beneficial to the younger players in the clubhouse.

Closing Thoughts

If or when he comes back to the majors this year, it would be questionable for the Blue Jays to prioritize Anthony Santander over the players who have gotten them where they’re at right now. Even though he is being paid to hit home runs and be a mainstay in the middle of Toronto’s beefy lineup, it might be easier for the Jays to just leave him on the bench.

He won’t serve as a positive defender, especially coming off a shoulder injury, and his bat hasn’t proven itself to be back up to speed just yet, so it’s unclear whether he’d be benefiting himself or the big league club by being called back up for the most important games of the season.

This team can get it done with or without some of its star talent, and the Jays have been doing very well so far without Santander. Will it be worth getting him back and risking the momentum that’s been built up this year? Only time will tell.