Struggling slugger Anthony Santander stays on Blue Jays’ bench in loss
Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider resisted the temptation to employ Anthony Santander as a ninth-inning pinch-hitter on Friday.
Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider resisted the temptation to employ Anthony Santander as a ninth-inning pinch-hitter on Friday.
Schneider gave his struggling slugger a day off, partly to rest a sore shoulder and partly to reset after a series against the Tampa Bay Rays in which he went 1 for 12 with five strikeouts.
“His shoulder was a little bit cranky still,” Schneider said. “So I didn’t want to force him in there if he couldn’t.”
With two on and two out, and the Blue Jays behind a run, Santander was kept on the bench in favour of pinch-hitter Ernie Clement.
Clement grounded out to Detroit reliever Beau Brieske for the final out for a 5-4 win for the American League-leading Tigers.
The 30-year-old Santander went 0-for-3 against Brieske in 2024.
Schneider wanted to give his newcomer a complete day off to rest and reset.
The free-agent acquisition has struggled with a .187 average, five homers and 16 RBI after a career-best 44 homers in 2024.
“I kind of wanted to stay away from him, unless it was something like Myles Straw got a migraine, too,” said Schneider, whose starting right-fielder, Nathan Lukes, was forced out of the game with a migraine.
Straw replaced Lukes in the seventh inning.
Schneider felt that because Santander didn’t go through his usual preparation to play, it wasn’t fair to put him into the ninth-inning heat.
“It’s kind of a double negative if that makes sense,” Schneider said.
