Is Anthony Santander's first season as a Blue Jay teetering on the edge?
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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.
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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.
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'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.
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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.
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In other words, the math doesn't look good.
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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.
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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.
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'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.'
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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.
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'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.'
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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.
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'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.
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'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.'
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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.
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