On a Seattle afternoon, the news choked the entire baseball world: Anthony Santander, the Venezuelan baseball star of the Toronto Blue Jays, was officially removed from the roster of the most important tournament in America – ALCS, thereby closing his 2025 season in pain and regret. What’s even sadder: according to MLB rules, Santander’s step into the upcoming World Series is officially over – a baseball dream has been turned to ashes.
Santander arrived in Toronto last winter in a state of jubilation after an explosive 2024 season with 44 home runs and 102 RBIs for the Baltimore Orioles. With a massive 5-year contract worth $92.5 million, he is considered the centerpiece of the Blue Jays’ comeback plan. But with the hope came the pain. A left shoulder injury suffered in May kept Santander out for more than four months, and he only returned briefly at the end of the season. The season ended with a .175 average and six home runs—a hope that was completely dashed.
The postseason began with a silver lining, with Santander reinserted into the lineup for a few early games in the final round. But the smiles were short-lived when the spinal injury that had plagued him for weeks recurred. He was removed from the ALCS Game 2 roster due to a spinal strain and was substituted after two at-bats in Game 3. The moment became a haunting image for every Blue Jays fan: the tired look in his eyes, the stiffness in his body with every movement.
“They [the doctors] reviewed all the medical data and Dr. Gary Green approved it,” MLB president Gary Green said. This means Santander cannot return to play this season, regardless of whether the Blue Jays make it to the World Series.
Santander, 30, shared sincerely in a brief interview before being replaced:
“I fought my way back from a shoulder injury and now my back. Missing the tournament is the worst thing for me. Not because I can’t play, but because I can’t be a part of the dream for my teammates and the fans…”
These words echoed in the minds of fans. A season of expectations, more than $90 million in investment, and days of hard training only to end with… closed locker rooms.
Santander once confided that the thing he wanted most was to bring the ball-grinding gun back to his home stadium at Rogers Centre in a blue jersey. But tired legs and a sore spine kept him out of the game over the summer. The Venezuelan star’s sadness is more than just losing the right to play – it’s an admission that baseball is both the greatest gift and the greatest challenge of his life.
Now that the season is over, Santander has the winter to recover. “I’ll come back stronger next year,” he says. “No one will remember the success if I don’t come back this year. And I don’t plan on being forgotten.”
Anthony Santander has learned the hard way that, in baseball – as in life – sometimes success isn’t about how many home runs you hit, but how you handle the blows life throws at you.
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