The Blue Jays introduced that outfielder Anthony Santander has been positioned on the 10-day injured checklist resulting from left shoulder irritation. Fellow outfielder Alan Roden has been recalled because the corresponding transfer.
The Jays signed Santander to a five-year, $92.5M deal this offseason. Heavy deferrals reportedly knock the online current worth nearer to $70M, but it surely was nonetheless the membership’s largest offseason splash as they appeared to bounce again from a disappointing 2024 season.
They haven’t obtained a lot from that funding to date. Santander has six dwelling runs and has drawn walks at an 11.5% clip however has a 26.3% strikeout price and a .179/.273/.304 batting line. That quantities to a 67 wRC+, indicating he’s been 33% worse than the league common hitter on the plate.
Santander’s .218 batting common on balls in play is basically low, however he’s additionally hitting the ball with much less authority than earlier than. He barreled up 11.7% of pitches final 12 months, however that mark is all the way down to 4.6% this 12 months. His present 40.8% onerous hit price could be his lowest since 2020. It’s attainable that he hasn’t been absolutely wholesome for some time. He was out of the lineup on Could tenth with supervisor John Schneider describing his shoulder as “a little bit cranky,” per Mitch Bannon of The Athletic. He additionally missed a while resulting from hip soreness this month.
Ideally, a little bit of relaxation will get him wholesome and again on monitor. Final 12 months, he hit 44 homers for the Orioles whereas solely putting out 19.4% of the time and drawing walks at an 8.7% clip. That led to a .235/.308/.506 line and 129 wRC+. The Jays have been absolutely hoping to get one thing resembling that stage of manufacturing however haven’t gotten it but.
The membership has George Springer and Daulton Varsho in two outfield spots, whereas Nathan Lukes, Jonatan Clase and Myles Straw are additionally within the combine. Roden now comes up and joins that group, who might be jockeying for taking part in time in one of many outfield corners in addition to the designated hitter slot. Roden cracked the Opening Day roster and hit simply .178/.262/.260 in his first 84 massive league plate appearances. He was then optioned all the way down to Buffalo, the place he has been mashing, placing up a .361/.446/.583 line for the Bisons.
