SEATTLE — The Toronto Blue Jays will be without Anthony Santander for the rest of the postseason. The switch-hitting slugger, Toronto’s biggest offseason acquisition, will be removed from the Jays’ postseason roster, sources tell The Athletic, pending MLB approval.

Santander, who played just 54 regular-season games this year due to a shoulder injury, is dealing with back issues in October. All postseason roster moves must be approved by MLB, but if Santander comes off Toronto’s roster, he will be ineligible to play in the World Series, should the Jays advance. Santander’s 2025 season is done.

In the first season of a five-year, $92.5 million deal, Santander hit .175 with six homers. He posted -1.0 WAR, per Baseball Reference, and was sidelined for much of the year. The 30-year-old returned in September, hoping to re-write the narrative of his opening season with clutch moments down the stretch and into October. In five playoff games, Santander notched three hits and drove in two runs. Pending the approval, his postseason will end with a .200 average and .450 OPS.

Santander was a late scratch from Toronto’s Game 2 lineup in the American League Championship Series due to a sore back. He returned to the batting order for Toronto’s Game 3 win against the Seattle Mariners, but was removed mid-game for a defensive replacement. After waking up with stiffness and soreness on Thursday, manager John Schneider said, Santander was held out of the lineup once again.

“Feeling all sorts of October,” Schneider said, “And the season he has had.”

The roster move has not yet been made official, but outfielder Joey Loperfido appears a likely candidate to join Toronto’s playoff roster. Shortstop Bo Bichette, still recovering from a knee sprain, will not be Santander’s replacement.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa joined Toronto’s Game 4 lineup in Santander’s absence, with Addison Barger moving to right field. The Jays’ offence managed through much of the season without its big free-agent signing, finishing the year fourth in runs scored. Toronto must now push through October without him, too.