Anthony Santander: if all goes well, the club is aiming for a mid-September return

The Blue Jays signed Anthony Santander for big money to bring power to town. Let's just say, in 2025, he's a failure.

Early in the season, he was injured. The Blue Jays, instead of putting him on the injured list, tried instead to make him a contact hitter to protect his swing.

This was never a good idea.

Santander was eventually placed on the injured list and didn't swing for two months. Now, he's just starting to take swings again in preparation for a return to action.

But will he be able to do it in 2025?

If he can really make a difference with his power, the Blue Jays will gladly make room for him. And even if time is on his side, the chances of him returning to the Majors in 2025 are looking better and better.

https://twitter.com/MitchBannon/status/1961041323651170385

If he doesn't suffer a setback, Santander could be playing games in the minors over the next weekend. And from there, perhaps a return around mid-September may be possible.

John Schneider would like to see him back between September 15 and 21, if all goes well.

Anthony Santander doing full baseball activities this weekend: hitting on field, running & fielding drills. He'll travel with Jays to Cincinnati after which the hope is he would begin a rehab assignment next weekend. Jays hope he can return later in Sept.

– Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) August 29, 2025

Schneider on Santander's return to lineup:

“If all goes well, I think we target Tampa or Kansas City, he'll be back with us.”

– Hazel Mae (@thehazelmae) August 29, 2025

If Santander comes back and produces, that's fine. But Santander isn't guaranteed to have an impact in 2025. He didn't have one after camp, and there's no guarantee he'll have a real opportunity if the stars don't align.

If he wants to unseat George Springer at DH (and thus, indirectly, force an outfielder to give up his spot at #4), Santander better produce. And the Blue Jays would like nothing better…

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