After making the World Series, the Toronto Blue Jays entered the offseason with every intention to spend big. They’ve done just that, signing Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce, Kazuma Okamoto, and others to free agent deals.
While the team is looking promising for the 2026 season, there are a few question marks. For example, the infield without Bo Bichette will be an interesting problem to solve.
But that’s not the only player the Blue Jays are going to be without. As USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports, John Schneider revealed Anthony Santander will be out 5-6 months due to surgery, further complicating the lineup to begin the season.
Blue Jays’ Anthony Santander to miss 5-6 months with injury
“Anthony Santander, who signed a five-year, $92.5 million contract a year ago with the Blue Jays, is undergoing left labral surgery and will be sidelined 5-6 months, Blue Jays manager John Schneider announces,” Nightengale reports.
This is some very significant and brutal news for the Blue Jays and Santander. Losing a player like him for this long before the season even begins is a tough reality for the Blue Jays.
The 31-year-old slugger signed his $92.5 million contract last offseason, and since then, the contract has not aged well whatsoever.
Obviously, this Santander injury is a brutal way to begin the second year of a total of five on that nearly $100 million contract.
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But, when combined with his production in 2025 for the Blue Jays, -1.0 bWAR in 54 games, thanks to a .175 batting average and .565 OPS.
The All-Star and Silver Slugger, who had a .246 batting average and .776 OPS in eight seasons with the Baltimore Orioles, has struggled in a major way since coming to the Blue Jays.
This injury means the Blue Jays will now need Addison Barger, Daulton Varsho, and one of Davis Schneider, Nathan Lukes, or Myles Straw to man the three outfield positions for the duration of Santander’s stint on the injured list.
5-6 months is a long time, and likely means that the Blue Jays won’t be seeing Santander back in the lineup until after the mid-July All-Star break.
