{"id":108507,"date":"2025-10-16T19:44:41","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T23:44:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=108507"},"modified":"2025-10-16T19:44:41","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T23:44:41","slug":"blue-jays-anthony-santander-out-postseason-back-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/10\/16\/blue-jays-anthony-santander-out-postseason-back-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Jays Outfielder Removed from Postseason Roster"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-block-type=\"BLOCK_TYPE_PARAGRAPH\">\n<p data-start=\"77\" data-end=\"338\">The Toronto Blue Jays are removing outfielder Anthony Santander from their postseason roster. <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/santaan02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-16_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Santander<\/a> was the Blue Jays\u2019 biggest offseason acquisition, and since he is not eligible for the World Series, his dismal first season with Toronto is over. Outfielder <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/l\/loperjo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-16_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joey Loperfido<\/a> will replace Santander on the postseason roster.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_104330\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-104330\" style=\"width: 897px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-104330\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/USATSI_26237311_168400885_lowres-300x210.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"897\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/USATSI_26237311_168400885_lowres-300x210.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/USATSI_26237311_168400885_lowres-1024x717.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/USATSI_26237311_168400885_lowres-768x538.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/USATSI_26237311_168400885_lowres-1536x1075.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/07\/USATSI_26237311_168400885_lowres-2048x1434.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 897px) 100vw, 897px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-104330\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">May 20, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter Anthony Santander (25) runs the bases and celebrates hitting a two-run home run against the San Diego Padres during the fifth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Anthony Santander Out for Rest of Postseason with Back Injury<\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Today <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@MLB<\/a> has approved a roster substitution due to an injury to <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BlueJays?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@BlueJays<\/a> outfielder Anthony Santander, who will be replaced by outfielder Joey Loperfido for the remainder of the ALCS vs. the <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Mariners?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Mariners<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>By rule, Santander will be ineligible for the World Series should the\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLB_PR\/status\/1978961689690411443?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 16, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"340\" data-end=\"1130\">Santander signed a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/01\/20\/blue-jays-anthony-santander-five-year-deal\/\" target=\"_self\">five-year, $92.5 million deal<\/a> with the Blue Jays in the 2024\u20132025 offseason and is about to complete an injury-ridden first season with Toronto. Playing only 54 regular-season games, Santander slashed .175\/.305\/.458 with a .565 OPS. The Blue Jays were hoping that a healthy Santander would be able to give the offense a power lift in the postseason, but injuries prevented that from happening. His absence has been especially felt in the middle of the lineup, where Toronto has struggled to produce consistent run support behind <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/g\/guerrvl02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-16_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Vladimir Guerrero Jr.<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/v\/varshda01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-16_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Daulton Varsho<\/a>. The lack of Santander\u2019s switch-hitting power bat has also forced manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/managers\/schnejo99.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">John Schneider<\/a> to alter his usual lineup construction, relying more heavily on left-handed hitters in key situations.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1132\" data-end=\"2055\">Santander was first sidelined on May 30th with left shoulder inflammation, and it took until September 23rd for him to return to the big league club. His extended absence limited his rhythm and timing at the plate, something that was noticeable in his brief return before the postseason. Toronto scratched him from the lineup ahead of Game Two of the American League Championship Series with a sore back, and while he returned to the lineup for Game Three, he did not play a full game, leaving for a defensive replacement in the fifth inning of Toronto&#8217;s 13\u20134 win over the Seattle Mariners.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1132\" data-end=\"2055\">Santander is out of the Game Four lineup as well, with the team choosing to prioritize his long-term health over a short-term postseason push. The Blue Jays&#8217; training staff has reportedly been closely monitoring his condition, emphasizing rest and treatment rather than risking a more significant injury that could extend into next season.<\/p>\n<h3 data-start=\"1132\" data-end=\"2055\">Better Safe Than Sorry<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"2057\" data-end=\"2398\">&#8220;He was pretty stiff, sore after (the game),&#8221; Schneider said. &#8220;Checked in with him this morning&#8230; In talking to him and getting treatment, still felt it wasn&#8217;t the right thing to put him out there.&#8221; Schneider\u2019s cautious approach reflects the organization\u2019s awareness of Santander\u2019s injury history and the need to prevent further setbacks.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2400\" data-end=\"2599\">\n<\/div>\n<p data-start=\"2400\" data-end=\"2599\">Main Photo Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Toronto Blue Jays are removing outfielder Anthony Santander from their postseason roster. Santander was the Blue Jays\u2019 biggest offseason acquisition, and since he is not eligible for the World Series, his dismal first season with Toronto is over. Outfielder Joey Loperfido will replace Santander on the postseason roster. Anthony Santander Out for Rest of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5663,"featured_media":101286,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,1071,35],"tags":[2824,3315,28459,5796,640],"class_list":["post-108507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bluejays","category-mlb","category-news","tag-anthony-santander","tag-daulton-varsho","tag-joey-loperfido","tag-john-schneider","tag-vladimir-guerrero-jr"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5663"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108507"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108512,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108507\/revisions\/108512"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}