Is Anthony Santander's first season as a Blue Jay teetering on the edge?
Article content
But that's where the Blue Jays find themselves with Anthony Santander, the slugger they signed to a free agent contract in January, and now a veteran whose season is teetering on being a lost one.
Article content
Article content
Jays manager John Schneider provided an update on the injured designated hitter/outfielder on Monday prior to the opening game of a three-game series against the New York Yankees. And as you might expect given Santander's long and frustrating absence from the team, it wasn't pretty.
Article content
Article content
'He's still a couple of weeks away from hitting and we'll kind of evaluate him week to week to see when that does start,' Schneider said of Santander, who has rejoined the team in Toronto for more medical attention during this home stand, which began with a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants over the weekend.
Article content
Schneider didn't need to say much more than that, truthfully. If the personable Santander is still a couple of weeks away from hitting, then he's a couple of weeks away from being ready to play and then another week, potentially, of rehab games before he could even be considered ready to play in a big-league game.
Article content
In other words, the math doesn't look good.
Article content
And then there's the issue of how you deal with Santander when (if?) he is ready? Prior to Monday's game, the 30-year-old had been on the injured list for 43 games with what the team lists as shoulder inflammation.
Article content
During his absence, of course, the Jays have been on fire, running off a 30-13 record and storming into first place in the American League East. So where exactly would he fit in the lineup given that prior to the injury, Santander was struggling at the plate, initially excused by the fact he has been a notoriously slow starter in his career.
Article content
'He's disappointed,' Schneider said. 'It's bad timing, first year here and all that kind of stuff. He's frustrated, but happy with the way we are playing and (we're) happy to have him back around.'
Article content
Article content
For the longest time, the Jays were vexed with what was happening with Santander, a situation that continues on some level. Schneider said on Monday that he believes the guy who banged out 42 home runs for the Baltimore Orioles last season may have been compromised by trying to play through an injury originally sustained when he crashed hard into an outfield wall in Anaheim.
Article content
'I think it was the initial injury in Anaheim and playing through it and not getting the results he wanted,' the manager said. 'Doing a lot physically probably made it worse.'
Article content
Even though the short-term prognosis is still gloomy, Schneider said the Jays are still hopeful they'll get Santander sorted and back in the lineup at some point.
Article content
'We want to have the option of having him, obviously,' Schneider said. 'It's kind of worked out to be not as quick as we or he would have hoped. A player like him and what he can add, you don't want to slow-play it.
Article content
'I definitely hope (the season being over) is not the outcome. I think you have to plan as we've been planning. You want him to get back and you want him to be in the lineup whenever that is. Definitely have not pulled him out yet for the season.'
Article content
And left unsaid: Definitely understanding that the team isn't close to being free of employing contingencies for his absence, one in which the team has seen so many others seize the opportunity and help make the Jays a first-place team.
Article content
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
14 minutes ago
- CTV News
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred confronted by Bryce Harper during meeting, AP source says
Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper reacts after hitting a home run against Boston Red Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito during the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) CHICAGO — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper had a spirited exchange during a question-and-answer session between the commissioner and the team, according to a person with direct knowledge of the conversation. The person spoke to the AP on Monday on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. Phillies slugger Nick Castellanos previously confirmed some details from the meeting in interviews with The Bandwagon and ESPN. Speaking before Philadelphia's game at the Chicago White Sox, Harper did not dispute the published descriptions of his confrontation with Manfred. 'I won't be getting into the details of what happened or how I felt or anything else like that,' Harper said. 'I don't think it does any good for anybody for that to happen. So, for me, I just, you know, trying to worry about baseball, trying to worry about everything in here.' Manfred met with the Phillies and Red Sox during their series last week in Philadelphia. The session with the Phillies lasted more than an hour. Manfred spoke with the NL team about the media landscape and working together to grow the sport, according to the person with knowledge of the conversation. At some point, Harper told Manfred if he was there to talk about a salary cap, he could 'get the (expletive) out' of the clubhouse. Baseball's collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1, 2026, and some players are concerned about a possible management push for a cap. A spokeswoman for the Major League Baseball Players Association declined comment on Monday night. Harper is a two-time NL MVP and one of the game's marquee names, making his conversation with Manfred more noteworthy. The eight-time All-Star agreed to a $330 million, 13-year deal with the Phillies in February 2019. 'Obviously, I don't want that to happen in those meetings,' Harper said. 'I don't want those things to be out there. I think, you know, when we have meetings with the commissioner or anybody else that comes to our clubhouse, those are good meetings to have.' Manfred and some owners have cited payroll disparity as one of baseball's biggest problems, while at the same time MLB is working to address a revenue decline from regional sports networks. Unlike the NFL, NBA and NHL, baseball has never had a salary cap because its players staunchly oppose one. Manfred has been meeting with teams more often since he said in the aftermath of baseball's March 2022 labor agreement that he needed to work on his relationship with players. 'When I talk to the players, I don't try to convince them that a salary cap system would be a good thing,' Manfred said during the All-Star break. 'I identify a problem in the media business and explain to them that owners need to change to address that problem. I then identify a second problem that we need to work together and that is that there are fans in a lot of our markets who feel like we have a competitive balance problem.' Asked for his argument against a salary cap and why it's such an important issue for players, Harper responded: 'I don't want to get into details as of right now.' He also said he planned to remain vocal about labor issues behind closed doors — just as he has done in the past. 'I've talked labor and I've done it in a way that I don't need to talk to the media about it,' he said. 'I don't need it out there. It has nothing to do with media or anybody else. It's what we can as players and owners and everybody else can come together to try to make this game great.' ___ AP MLB: Jay Cohen, The Associated Press
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Ranking the top Canadian soccer transfers of 2025, plus Cloé Lacasse interview
We rank the top Canadian soccer transfers of the year from Olivia Smith to Jonathan David. Cloe Lacasse joins the show to talk injury recovery and making her way back to the CANWNT team. Plus, England's Lionesses go back-to-back at the Women's Euro in our viral moment of the week.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Canadian 'bike weirdo' breaks 2 world records on her penny farthing
Social Sharing People who ride penny farthings are weirdos, says Lizanne Wilmot — and she's the fastest weirdo of them all. On New Year's Eve, the Canadian-born cyclist broke the world record for fastest speed on a penny farthing when she hit 41.709 kilometres per hour at the Tasmanian Christmas Carnival in Burnie, Australia, claiming the women's title and beating the men's record, too. Two days prior, at the same event, she broke the women's world record for fastest one kilometre on a penny farthing at one minute and 52.750 seconds. Both rides were hell on her hamstrings, she says, but cruising to victory on her bespoke Victorian-style bicycle was pure joy. "When you're on the penny farthing, you can't help but to smile the entire time," Wilmot told As It Happens guest host Megan Williams. Guinness World Records certified Wilmot's titles this month. A thriving penny farthing community Wilmot, a championship-winning track cyclist and spatial scientist from Brampton, Ont., has plenty of experience riding an ordinary bike. But once she took her first whirl on a penny farthing, she says she was hooked. "It's almost like I've de-evolved," she said. The old-timey bike, also known as a high-wheeler, has a massive front wheel, which the rider sits astride, putting them more than a metre above the ground. They largely fell out of favour in the 1880s with the advent of the modern bicycle. But the quaint style of cycling never disappeared entirely, and Wilmot says there's a thriving penny-farthing scene in Australia, where she's been living since she was 18. "We're bike weirdos," she said. "All you have to do is show interest and you're instantly welcomed, which that's another thing that just makes being around the penny community that much better than being around a regular bike community." A bespoke bike named Tiny The other thing that makes a penny farthing better than a standard bike, she says, is the experience of riding it out in the world. "When you're riding a regular bike, you're kind of out there, you're going fast, you're not really taking things in," she said. "But when you are on a penny, you almost have to slow down and interact with more people, and it just brings you joy." Wilmot rides a custom, 1.2-metre tall penny farthing, built by Australia's Dan Bolwell, a.k.a. "Penny Farthing Dan." She calls it Tiny because it's about 30 centimetres shorter than the average penny farthing. She was astride Tiny when she broke both world records. On Dec. 29, she rode one kilometre 30 seconds faster than the previous record holder, the U.K.'s Julie Woodward. "I was head down, butt up, like just peddling the legs as fast as I could," she said. "I knew that I was going fast, but I didn't know I was breaking the record by that much." On New Year's Eve, when she claimed the record for fastest speed on a penny farthing in the women's category, she also beat Guy Banham's men's record by 0.149 seconds, making her the fastest in the world. She said it was "blowing a gale" that day at the track near Australia's Bass Strait. "Having a bit of a tailwind, I was able to do that second run and just absolutely blow it out of the park," she said. Wilmot is already eyeing her next competitive challenge. But, in the meantime, she'll keep riding Tiny off the racetracks, fielding stares, questions and comments from curious passersby. She's so used to it, she says, that she's developed scripted responses.
