The Blue Jays introduced that outfielder Anthony Santander has been positioned on the 10-day injured checklist on account of 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, nevertheless it was nonetheless the membership’s largest offseason splash as they seemed to bounce again from a disappointing 2024 season.
They haven’t obtained a lot from that funding to date. Santander has six residence runs and has drawn walks at an 11.5% clip however has a 26.3% strikeout fee 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 yr, however that mark is all the way down to 4.6% this yr. His present 40.8% laborious hit fee could be his lowest since 2020. It’s attainable that he hasn’t been totally wholesome for some time. He was out of the lineup on Might tenth with supervisor John Schneider describing his shoulder as “just a little cranky,” per Mitch Bannon of The Athletic. He additionally missed a while on account of hip soreness this month.
Ideally, a little bit of relaxation will get him wholesome and again on observe. Final yr, he hit 44 homers for the Orioles whereas solely placing 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 certainly 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 shall 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 large 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.
