Anthony Santander has been removed from the Toronto Blue Jays’ postseason roster prior to tonight’s ALCS Game 4 and replaced by outfielder Joey Loperfido.
Major League Baseball approved the transaction after Dr. Gary Green, MLB’s medical director, reviewed the information on Santander’s back injury. The roster move makes Santander ineligible for the World Series if the Blue Jays defeat the Seattle Mariners.
The 2025 free-agent acquisition has been beset by injuries most of the year, limiting him to 54 regular-season games and five in the postseason. The switch-hitting outfielder/designated hitter, who cracked a career-high 44 home runs for the Baltimore Orioles last season, suffered a shoulder injury that kept him out from late May until late September. Then came the back injury that has ended his difficult campaign.
Santander, 30, was a last-minute scratch from the ALCS Game 2 lineup with a sore back. He started Game 3 on Wednesday in Seattle, but only took two at-bats before being removed.
He remained sore on Thursday morning, which inspired Toronto manager John Schneider to insert Isiah Kiner-Falefa into the lineup at second base, shift Ernie Clement to third base and move Addison Barger to right field for Game 4. The Blue Jays can knot the series after earning a 13-4 win in Game 3.
“He was pretty stiff, sore after (Game 3),” Schneider said. “Checked in with him this morning and still felt it, so wanted to hold off as long as we could. But just in talking to him and after getting some treatment, it still felt like it wasn’t the right thing to do to put him out there.”
Santander signed a five-year, $92.5 million deal with the Blue Jays to hit in the heart of their lineup. He finished the regular season at .175 with six home runs, then went 3 of 15 (.200) with one run, two RBIs, one walk and five strikeouts in postseason play.
Loperfido, 26, hit .333 with four home runs and an .879 OPS in 41 regular-season games for Toronto in 2025. He was traded from Houston to Toronto in July 2024, along with pitcher Jake Bloss and infielder Will Wagner, for pitcher Yusei Kikuchi. If he plays in Game 4, it will mark his postseason debut.
