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Blue Jays Facing Difficult Anthony Santander Decision After Shoulder Injury

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jake Elman | Last updated Jul 26, 2025 2:14 PM ET

Things are going about as well as they can for the Toronto Blue Jays, who have skyrocketed up the AL East standings and entered Saturday owning a 5 1/2 game lead over the New York Yankees.

If you told a Blue Jays fan in January that Toronto would have the sport’s best record on July 26, they’d have been justified in guessing Anthony Santander would’ve been a big part of their success. Now, that same fan may need reminding that, yes, Santander plays for the Blue Jays.

We last saw Santander in late May, when he hit the injured list with a left shoulder injury. It remains unclear when the veteran right fielder will return, though Toronto doesn’t expect him back before late August at the earliest.

If and when Santander does return, the Blue Jays need to decide where he fits into a lineup that, at their current pace, will own the AL’s top seed come October.

Anthony Santander lasers one out at 110 MPH pic.twitter.com/J88kt5mXly
— MLB (@MLB) May 21, 2025

Santander hit .179 with six homers, 18 RBIs, and a dreadful .577 OPS in his first 209 plate appearances with the Blue Jays. That’d be bad on its own, but remember: Santander signed a five-year, $92.5 million contract last offseason.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider may eventually face the same problem that Yankees manager Aaron Boone runs into every year: benching — or not benching — a struggling player with a significant contract. Boone stuck with veteran infielder DJ LeMahieu for as long as he could in recent seasons, partly because LeMahieu was on a six-year, $90 million deal.

On the one hand, Santander is a dangerous switch-hitter who averaged 35 homers and a .795 OPS from 2022-24. Conversely, he’ll be coming off a lingering shoulder injury, and the Blue Jays have done just fine without him.

Whatever happens, we don’t envy the Blue Jays. At least they’re in first place.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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