Blue Jays lose $92.5 million outfielder for 5-6 months, pitcher to season-ending injury

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11 February 2026 at 02:17

The Toronto Blue Jays welcomed reporters to their spring training camp Tuesday with a long list of bad offseason injury news.

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Anthony Santander, who last year signed a five-year, $92.5 million contract with the Jays, will miss the next 5-6 months after undergoing left labral surgery.

https://twitter.com/MitchBannon/status/2021344727438852250

In addition, pitcher Bowden Francis is undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, sidelining him for the entire season. Francis, 30, went 2-8 with a 6.05 ERA in 14 starts for the American League pennant winners.

Santander parlayed a 44-homer All-Star season with the Baltimore Orioles in 2024 into a lucrative five-year deal with the rival Blue Jays last January. The contract has proven to be a disaster.

Santander was limited to 54 games last year with injuries and batted .175 when healthy. He was effectively reduced to a spectator’s role as the Blue Jays returned to the World Series for the first time since 1993 before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Now he’ll attempt to return before the end of the 2026 season to give the Blue Jays some return on the $16.5 million salary he’ll earn this year.

Francis was impressive in 2024 (8-5, 3.30 ERA) but shuttled back and forth between Toronto and Triple-A Buffalo during an inconsistent 2025 season. The Jays signed Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce to bolster their rotation this offseason.