Anthony Santander was the Toronto Blue Jays’ big addition in the 2024/25 off-season.
This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual 40-man roster review ahead of the new season. If you missed the most recent article, we looked at Yimi García. In this article, we’ll look at Anthony Santander.
In 2011, Santander signed with the Cleveland Guardians, the same team which saw Mark Shapiro as its president and Ross Atkins as their farm director. It took Santander a while to figure it out, as he was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2016 Rule 5 draft, making his Major League Baseball the following season.
The switch-hitting outfielder’s first three MLB season were below average, albeit he didn’t become a regular until 2019. In 2020, he posted a career-best 130 wRC+ in just 165 plate appearances. Santander had another below average season in 2021, before finally figuring it out in 2022.
Between 2022 and 2024, Santander hit 105 home runs, sixth-most in the league during that span. Only Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonso, and Matt Olson had more, while Santander had a better K% than all of them (20.5%). In 2024, his final season as an Oriole, Santander hit 44 home runs, third most in the league.
In January 20, 2025, the Blue Jays signed Santander to a five-year deal worth $92.5 million, but with deferrals and opt-outs, which is out of the scope of this article. His contract may be worth $92.5 million on paper, but he only earns $12-14 million per year in luxury tax.
Anyway, Santander’s 2025 wasn’t great. A natural slow starter, Santander struggled in the first month or so, before getting hot for just under two weeks. Then, the injuries started, as he played through a hip and shoulder injury in May, ending up on the injured list. He stayed there until the final four games of the season, and was removed from their American League Championship Series roster due to a back injury.
As a whole, Santander slashed .175/.271/.294 with six home runs in 221 plate appearances for a 61 wRC+ and -0.9 fWAR, by far the worst season of his career. The good news is that his season was hampered by his typical slow start and injuries. That two month stretch from Apr. 27 until May 8 is an encouraging sign, and so too is the fact he appears to be fully healthy entering Spring Training.
With Bo Bichette departing for the New York Mets and Kyle Tucker joining the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Blue Jays are banking on a rebound season from Santander. If Fangraphs’ Steamer is to be believed, it has him slashing .231/.309/.435 with 26 home runs in 567 plate appearances. But expect him to do a bit better than that.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.