Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Anthony Santander told reporters via an interpreter Wednesday that the torn labrum in his left shoulder re-emerged while he was doing off-season hitting work.
Santander is scheduled to miss between five and six months after having surgery.
Anthony Santander tells us (via interpreter) that mid-season MRIs in 2025 did not show the tear in his labrum.
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) February 18, 2026
He and the #BlueJays opted for rehab, but when he ramped up hitting this winter and it felt uncomfortable, those MRIs did.
Santander said that an MRI in the middle of 2025 did not show a labral tear. But when he started hitting again this off-season and felt off, that caused him to have an MRI, which showed the damage as being worse than before and required surgery.
“Unfortunately, things happen that are not in your control. I know some people think differently, but I know who I am. I know I’m trying my best to be on the field with my teammates‚" Santander said through an interpreter via MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson.
He also said he is aiming to join the team later in the season for what he hopes is another stretch run.
“We’ll see where we’re at when we get there. If it doesn’t work, obviously the other option is to wait until next year, but I hope it doesn’t go that way,” the 31-year-old said.
Santander is entering the second year of a five-year, $92.5 million deal he signed with Toronto last winter. He appeared in only 54 games in 2025, missing a majority of the campaign with a shoulder ailment. In 194 at-bats, Santander batted .175 with 34 hits, six home runs, 18 runs batted in and an OPS of .565. He had three hits in five postseason games and did not play in the World Series.
The switch-hitter was a force for the Baltimore Orioles in 2024, hitting a career-high 44 home runs and driving in 102.
A native of Margarita, Venezuela, Santander is a nine-year big-league veteran and has a career slash line of .241/.305/.458.
