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Blue Jays: Expect Anthony Santander to bounce back in 2026
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Photo credit: © Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Nov 18, 2025, 13:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 18, 2025, 10:59 EST
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Last off-season, the Toronto Blue Jays’ big splash was Anthony Santander.
The switch-hitting outfielder was coming off a season where he hit 44 home runs in 665 plate appearances with the Baltimore Orioles. Slashing .235/.308/.814, Santander earned his first and only nod to the All-Star Game, finished 14th in MVP voting, and even won the Silver Slugger Award, the first award he won as a big leaguer. His 44 home runs in 2024 were the third-most in Major League Baseball, only behind Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge.
This capped off three strong seasons to end his Orioles’ career. From the 2022 season until 2024, Santander slashed .244/.317/.478 with 105 home runs and 90 doubles in 1,968 plate appearances. 
Expectations were high when the Blue Jays signed Santander on Jan. 20, 2025. Santander had a solid Spring Training with the Blue Jays, but he’s always been known to be a slow starter. In March and April throughout his career, Santander is slashing .204/.285/.360 with 16 home runs in 583 plate appearances.
Unsurprisingly, that slow start continued as a Blue Jay. From the start of the season until the first game of the doubleheader on Apr. 27, Santander was slashing .175/.252/.272 with two home runs in 115 plate appearances. Something changed in that second game of the doubleheader, because over his next 10 games, Santander slashed .250/.333/.500 with three home runs in 45 plate appearances until May 8th’s game.
Santander’s injury troubles began on May 9th, and it showed in how he performed. Over his next 14 games, Santander slashed .122/.2665/.195 with a home run in 49 plate appearances, eventually ending up on the Injured List at the end of May. He’d go on to miss nearly four months of action before returning for the Blue Jays’ final six regular season games.
Although Santander returned to the lineup for the Blue Jays’ postseason run, he was not at 100%. In the postseason, Santander played five games, where he had three hits (all singles), a walk, and five strikeouts in 16 plate appearances. Midway through the American League Championship Series, Santander was removed from the Blue Jays’ playoff roster, ending his season.
As a whole, Santander slashed .175/.271/.294 with six home runs in 221 plate appearances, not great for the Blue Jays’ biggest free agent addition. That said, a healthy Santander is going to be important for the Blue Jays next season. After the slow start but before the injury issues, Santander was starting to hit like himself.
There’s a good chance that Santander rebounds in 2026. Fangraphs’ Steamer projection has him slashing .230/.309/.434 with 26 home runs in 567 plate appearances next season. Realistically, you’d take that from the outfielder, as his Luxury Tax hit is just $13.72 million in 2026.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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