On January 20th, 2025, the Toronto Blue Jays made their biggest splash of the offseason by announcing the signing of Anthony Santander. The deal: five years, $92.5 million guaranteed, with the potential to reach $110 million through incentives. The hope was that Santander would provide the much-needed power presence in the heart of the lineup—something the team has sorely lacked since Teoscar Hernández’s departure.

Almost 50 games into the season, however, the reality has been starkly different. To put it bluntly, Santander has not delivered. A perennial late starter, many thought the troubles would end once the calendar turned over into May. While he’s yielded better results as of late, it’s still far behind what the Jays were likely expecting from their newest player.

And as his struggles persist, the questions are growing louder: What’s gone wrong, and how concerned should Blue Jays fans be?

The numbers are jarring. As of this writing, Santander owns a .193 batting average –  eighth-worst among all qualified hitters in Major League Baseball. His .607 OPS ranks 16th-worst in the league. But the issues run deeper than just surface-level stats.

With runners in scoring position, Santander has slashed just .170 with a .543 OPS. In high-leverage situations, he boasts a .217 OBP and a .455 OPS with just one home run through 42 at-bats.

This is from a player who has occupied the crucial No. 3 spot in the batting order for much of the season and was brought in specifically to drive in runs. So far, he simply hasn’t.

Supporters of Santander have pointed out that he’s historically a slow starter. That’s true to an extent. Over his career, his April OPS sits at a modest .645. But typically, he follows that up with a strong May — his career OPS for the month is .805. This season, that bounce-back hasn’t arrived. This season, his April numbers were lower than his career values (.175 average and .574 OPS), and his May numbers currently sit at a .228/.323/.351 with a .674 OPS.

Not only did he struggle in April, but he hasn’t bounced back like fans were hoping for in May based on his recent numbers.

In recent weeks, there has been some clarity, though not necessarily comfort, about what might be contributing to Santander’s slump. The Blue Jays have quietly kept him out of the lineup on several occasions, citing a sore shoulder he suffered in Los Angeles, as well as a hip injury that kept him on the sidelines this past week. Manager John Schneider admitted that Santander’s shoulder was “a little bit cranky” and that they didn’t want to “force him in there if he couldn’t” play at full capacity.

Shoulder issues can affect a hitter’s production, particularly when it comes to power and bat speed. Same with his hip if the inflammation is persisting. Still, this recent injury news doesn’t fully account for Santander’s underwhelming start—his struggles date back to Opening Day, long before any shoulder concerns were made public, although the hip injury may be more telling if Santander was battling from the get-go.

Right now, it’s hard to argue that Santander should be hitting third in the lineup. Whether it’s injury-related, mechanical, or mental, something isn’t right — and it’s costing the Blue Jays valuable run production. Schneider did move him down in the lineup when he returned last week, but Santander did find himself back in the spot yesterday after posting a two-hit performance on Saturday.

Still, it’s too early to call the signing a bust. Santander has a track record of success and has overcome slow starts before.

For Toronto, the path forward is simple: give him the time and support needed to work through his issues, and hope that time comes sooner rather than later.

The Blue Jays need the bat they thought they signed. For now, though, it remains missing in action.

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