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Blue Jays 40-man Roster Review: Anthony Santander adds some much-needed power in Toronto’s lineup
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Photo credit: © Tommy Gilligan - USA Today
Ryley Delaney
Jan 21, 2025, 21:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 21, 2025, 20:29 EST
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The Toronto Blue Jays added some pop in their bat on Monday.
This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual 40-man Roster Review, where we look at the players on the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster. We’ll look at how the player performed in 2024, his season projections for the 2025 season, and any storylines heading into this coming season. In this article, we’ll look at Anthony Santander.
After a dismal 2023-24 off-season, the Blue Jays have quietly had a great off-season despite missing out on top free agents such as Juan Soto and Rōki Sasaki. On top of trading for a back-to-back-to-back Gold Glove in Andrés Giménez, as well as drastically improving their bullpen, their addition of Anthony Santander has given them a power bat they’ve been missing for a while.
Santander originally signed with the Cleveland Guardians as an International Free Agent in 2011 while Ross Atkins was the director of player development. Santander was picked up in the 2016 Rule 5 draft by the Baltimore Orioles and made his debut the following season. He became a regular in 2019, where he slashed .261/.297/.476 with 20 home runs in 405 plate appearances.
The switch-hitter didn’t have his true breakout until 2022 when he slashed .240/.318/.455 with 33 home runs for a 122 wRC+ and a 2.3 fWAR. He followed that up with a 28-home run season with a 119 wRC+ and a 2.6 fWAR in 2023.
Last season was Santander’s best in the big leagues, as he slashed .235/.308/.506 with 44 home runs in 665 plate appearances, with a 129 wRC+ and a 3.3 fWAR. While he didn’t get on base a whole lot, he didn’t sacrifice his strikeout percentage for pop finishing with a 19.4 K%.
According to Fangraphs’ projections, it’ll be a pretty good season for the 30-year-old outfielder. Steamer has him slashing .234/.315/.470 with 34 home runs in 659 plate appearances for a 122 wRC+. Another projection model, OOPSY, has him slashing .250/.319/.474 with 34 home runs in 762 plate appearances for a 124 wRC+ and a 3 fWAR. Similarly, his latest projection from ATC has Santander slashing .243/.316/.473 with 32 home runs in 627 plate appearances with a 123 wRC+ and a 2.8 fWAR.
For at least the next four seasons, the Blue Jays have protection for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in their lineup (if Guerrero Jr. signs an extension), as Santander has power and loads of it. Moreover, he’s a good hitter from both sides of the plate and not that bad of a defender in right field. His 44 home runs in 2024 were the third-most in the league, behind Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, and ahead of Juan Soto. Not bad company to be surrounded by.
As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.

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