Toronto Blue Jays' hitting coach David Popkins excited for Anthony Santander 2026 revenge tour
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The Toronto Blue Jays are counting on a strong bounce-back campaign from Anthony Santander in 2026.
Anthony Santander was the club's marquee free-agent addition last offseason, but his debut year in Toronto fell well short of expectations.
A series of injuries limited him to just 54 games, preventing him from ever finding a consistent rhythm at the plate.
Blue Jays hitting coach David Popkins joined The Gate 14 Podcast on Sunday to discuss why he remains optimistic about Santander's outlook moving forward.
Popkins believes the veteran slugger is primed for a big rebound season and is motivated by a desire to silence critics after a frustrating first year with the organization.
«He's a hard worker; he really had a lot of things physically going on that made it tough for him,» Popkins said to Gate 14. «If you watch him, he gets into the cage, he's taking a lot of swings, he knows what he wants to work on, (and) he knows what has worked for him in the past.
Popkins' confidence reflects the team's belief that a healthy Santander can once again be a difference-maker in the lineup.
«He's got his own strength coach who helps him and works with him. The guy really knows how to be successful, I'm excited to see him come back and come back on a little vengeance tour and remind the league on who Anthony Santander is.»
Before arriving in Toronto, the switch-hitter was coming off an outstanding 2024 season with the Baltimore Orioles, where he crushed 44 home runs and drove in 102 runs.
Popkins and manager John Schneider share optimism on Santander
Blue Jays manager John Schneider shares that optimism, noting that Santander has been one of the more reliable power hitters throughout his career.
«Tony is going to be huge for us,» said Schneider. «Speaking to him at the end of the year and in the postseason, he battled to get back. He wanted to be part of it so bad. He wanted to get off on the right foot. It didn't happen.»
Like Popkins, Schneider feels Santander enters the 2026 season with something to prove after an injury-plagued year.
«He is motivated. He is hungry to get back to the player we know he is,» Schneider added. «He's a big part of what we're doing. Again, I don't want him - I've told him this, 'I don't want you to think you have to do anything you don't do well. You don't have to come back and hit .300 with 50 homers to make up for last year.' We need Tony to fit in the way we know he can when we signed him.»
In 2025, Santander struggled to a .175 batting average while recording six home runs and 18 RBIs across his limited 54-game sample.
With his health restored, the Blue Jays are hopeful those numbers will be an outlier rather than a sign of decline.
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