Blue Jays Respond to Controversial Anthony Santander Social Posts
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The Toronto Blue Jays responded on Friday to the social media firestorm that outfielder Anthony Santander created after a series of social media posts.
Santander has since deleted the posts. But many were captured by social media users before he deleted them. According to Mitch Bannon of The Athletic (subscription required), Santander shared posts that many considered to be Islamophobic on his Instagram story on Wednesday, shortly after the U.S. elections were completed.
In one image, Santander posted an image of Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, who was just elected as a U.S. Senator for the state of Michigan and will be the first Muslim Senator in history. The post included a statement that read “America voted for Sharia Last Night!”
The other post featured text that said, “Islam is not peaceful.”
On Friday, the Blue Jays responded to the controversy.
Blue Jays Release on Anthony Santander’s Posts
The Blue Jays released a statement to reporters when asked about Santander’s posts from earlier this week.
“Baseball is for everyone,” the Blue Jays said in the statement, “and the Blue Jays have created an inclusive experience where all fans feel welcome at our ballpark. Individual comments do not represent our organization’s values and beliefs.”
Santander is a native of Venezuela who signed with Cleveland as an international free agent in 2011. He made his MLB debut with the Baltimore Orioles in 2017 and played for the franchise through the 2024 season before signing a long-term deal with the Blue Jays before the 2025 season.
Signed for five years and $92.5 million after a career season with the Orioles in which he hit 44 home runs and 102 RBI. In two years with Toronto, he’s only played in 54 games due to injuries and has six home runs and 18 RBI.
Santander missed most of the 2025 season with right shoulder inflammation but got healthy enough to return for the postseason. He briefly made the postseason roster before back tightness put him back on the injured list during the AL Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners.
He didn’t play in 2026 after he had left labral surgery. He recovered in enough time to start a minor league rehab assignment in September but was not in good enough shape to return to the Majors before the end of the season.
He has three years remaining on his deal. Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins told reporters earlier this offseason that Toronto sees Santander as part of their plan for 2027.
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Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers Major League Baseball for OnSI. He also covers the Big 12 Conference for Heartland College Sports.
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