Blue Jays place big-ticket free-agent slugger Anthony Santander on 10-day IL

National Post

2 days ago

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At least for the time being, Tony Taters is in tatters.
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Given the five-year deal worth a cool $92.5-million he signed this off-season in free agency, Anthony Santander isn't going anywhere any time soon.
He is going on the 10-day injured list, a move the Blue Jays revealed in the hours leading up to Friday night's first pitch against the visiting Athletics.
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To date, the Jays have not received much from the investment they made into the switch-hitting slugger, whose struggles at the plate prompted the club to recently give Santander an off-day to reset, only to admit he was dealing with a sore shoulder and later a hip issue.
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For the record, Santander's activation to the injured list was necessitated because of left shoulder inflammation. He had an MRI on it done on Thursday.
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In a corresponding move, the Blue Jays recalled outfielder Alan Roden from the triple-A Buffalo Bisons.
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Despite dealing with his various health woes, at no point, until now, Santander was never placed on the IL, even though voices outside of the club were growing louder as his productivity at the plate faltered.
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Earlier this month, when the Jays were on a West Coast trip, Santander suffered the shoulder injury in a series against the L.A. Angels. The injury occurred when he crashed into the stands down the line in right field in pursuit of a fly ball.
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When the Jays got their hands on Santander — a move many in baseball endorsed, by the way — the thinking was the franchise had finally found a slugging piece to hit in the middle of the order.
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In 50 games, Santander, who hit a career-high 44 homers last season with the Baltimore Orioles, has gone deep six times.
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His 55 strikeouts does lead the Blue Jays, a stat no one envisioned when he arrived in town.
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If he had double-digit homers, perhaps all of those K's would be tolerated.
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On one side, credit goes to Santander for trying to play through the injury, even though he wasn't producing much in his at-bats. On the other, one is left to wonder why such a move to go on the IL wasn't made sooner.
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The team, meanwhile, continues to evaluate whether anything played out to make the shoulder worse in the wake of the initial setback, and if rest is the best course of action or resorting to a cortisone shot.
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In other IL-related developments, veteran right-hander Max Scherzer (thumb) completed a live bullpen session Friday at the Rogers Centre under the auspices of club GM Ross Atkins, manager John Schneider and pitching coach Pete Walker. Many of Scherzer's teammates were on hand as well.
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By all accounts, the experience went well.