The Toronto Blue Jays are clinging to the lead in the American League East. As of Thursday, they’re three games ahead of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, who play a three-game series starting on Friday.
Toronto has led the decision for a considerable span without one of its top offseason acquisitions. Anthony Santander hasn’t played since May 29 with a shoulder injury. He signed a five-year, $92.5 million deal this winter.
Santander could rejoin the Blue Jays soon, though. The switch-hitting outfielder started a rehab assignment on Thursday. He was supposed to begin his rehab earlier this week, but back tightness delayed his start.
Santander played primarily as a designated hitter for the Blue Jays when healthy, but spent time in the outfield as well. He didn’t perform up to his standard offensively, slashing .179/.273/.304, but he’ll step right into the Toronto lineup due to his pedigree. Over the past three years, he posted a .795 OPS with 105 home runs with the Baltimore Orioles.
His addition will only accentuate the Blue Jays’ strength. Much of their offensive success is due to their ability to put the ball in play; their 17.6% strikeout rate is the best in baseball. Santander puts the ball in play most of the time, striking out about 20% of the time over the last three seasons while walking 8.5% of the time.
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The Red Sox play a three-game series with the Blue Jays beginning on September 23. Position player rehab assignments can last up to 20 days, so he won’t be forced to be activated by then, but could be activated if he’s ready.
The series could determine the race for the division if the Red Sox are still near the top in two weeks. The Blue Jays have won seven of the 10 games between the two teams this season, so they’ll own the standings tiebreaker even in the event of a Red Sox sweep.