Blue Jays outfielder Anthony Santander began a Minor League rehab assignment on Wednesday as he works his way back from surgery in February to repair a torn left shoulder labrum.
Santander played for Triple-A Buffalo against Charlotte as he seeks to make his season debut for Toronto before the regular season concludes in under three weeks.
Here’s what you need to know:
How did Santander perform?
In four trips to the plate as the Bisons’ designated hitter on Wednesday, Santander went 0-for-4 with a pair of groundouts, a pop-out to third and a strikeout.
What’s next?
Santander, who turns 32 in October, is expected to need a lengthy, Spring Training-style ramp-up before he can be activated off the injured list since he hasn’t seen game action since last year’s American League Championship Series against the Mariners.
After serving as Buffalo’s DH on Wednesday, Santander will begin getting reps in the outfield.
What are they saying?
According to Blue Jays manager John Schneider, the club wants to be sure Santander gets enough plate appearances during the rehab assignment before having him rejoin the Major League roster, particularly given how long he’s been sidelined and his history of slow starts offensively.
“It’ll be a handful of games, at least,” Schneider said. “We want to see how he’s feeling, how he’s hitting the ball. We’ll definitely be in touch with him once he gets rolling.
“ … He’s notoriously kind of a slow starter, too, so we want to make sure that he’s functioning at the normal level that he can. If he can help us, it’d be great.”
What else?
When healthy, Santander has shown he can be a difference-maker in the middle of a lineup. The switch-hitting slugger belted 44 home runs with an .814 OPS in an All-Star campaign for the Orioles in 2024.
But due to shoulder, hip and back injuries in 2025, Santander has only appeared in 54 games for the Blue Jays after joining Toronto on a five-year, $92.5 million contract prior to last season. Over those 54 games, he produced a .175/.271/.294 slash line with six home runs in 221 plate appearances.