Struggling Blue Jays Slugger Makes Concerning Statement on His Injuries
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The Toronto Blue Jays are fighting to get back above the .500 mark with a 26-28 record that illustrates the struggles in their 2025 season campaign.
While they are only three games behind the Houston Astros for the American League Wild Card spot, it hasn’t felt like the pieces expected to turn them into contenders have materialized.
Anthony Santander has been one of the offseason acquisitions under a negative spotlight. People have labeled the slugger as a free agency bust due to his inconsistency and lack of power.
It’s possible that injuries are affecting Santander more than imagined. That’s no excuse, but his recent comments are concerning should he truly be that limited.
Should Anthony Santander Head to the Injured List?
Santander’s slow start has coincided with injuries over the last several months. Santander sustained a right shoulder injury crashing into the stands in Anaheim for a foul ball early in May and recently had inflammation in his left hip flare up.
According to Blue Jays reporter Keegan Matheson of MLB.com, Santander was candid about his injuries and how they affected his swing.
“Anthony Santander has said that his shoulder/hip issues are helping him limit big swings, which should help him make more contact… but that’s not his game. His game is a .240 average with 30+ homers. I don’t think we’re seeing him close to his natural self right now,” Matheson wrote.
Santander is slashing .274/.315/.315 with a 68 OPS+. He only has six home runs and 18 RBIs in 178 at bats.
Last season, his 44 homers for the Baltimore Orioles were third in the league, and his 102 RBIs were No. 14.
It’s not just his lack of production but also the harsh drop-off in power behind his swing. Santander’s .271 ISO in 2024 was the fourth highest in the MLB. That’s dropped to .129, his lowest since 2018.
This raises the question: should Santander be hitting at all? It's curious how Santander phrased it as "helping" him limit big swings. Perhaps that's an attempt to retool his game with his poor output this season.
However, as Matheson points out, this approach strays from the traits that make Santander great, and it is not working at all for the struggling right fielder.
His numbers indicate a lack of growth in making more contact with his swings. Rather than continue to push through ailments when he's not shown the ability to adapt to those limitations, Toronto should consider placing Santander on the injured list.
It's possible he's having mental struggles as much as physical ones and may be psyching himself out by trying to alter his game when he hasn't been producing and is admittedly not healthy.
An IL stint may give him the reset that he needs holistically to turn his season around and the Blue Jays' in turn.
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Maddy Hudak is the deputy editor for Tulane on Sports Illustrated and the radio sideline reporter for their football team. Maddy is an alumnus of Tulane University, and graduated in 2016 with a degree in psychology. She went on to obtain a Master of Legal Studies while working as a research coordinator at the VA Hospital, and in jury consulting. During this time, Maddy began covering the New Orleans Saints with SB Nation, and USA Today. She moved to New Orleans in 2021 to pursue a career in sports and became Tulane's sideline reporter that season. She enters her fourth year with the team now covering the program on Sports Illustrated, and will use insights from features and interviews in the live radio broadcast. You can follow her on X at @MaddyHudak_94, or if you have any questions or comments, she can be reached via email at maddy.hudak1@gmail.com