Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Anthony Santander crushes 396 ft home run in first rehab game in Triple-A Buffalo
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Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Anthony Santander played his first game ever with the Buffalo Bisons on Thursday.
After three-and-a-half months on the IL, Santander went 1-for-3 with a home run as the designated hitter to begin his rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo in an 8-7 loss to Rochester on Thursday night at Innovative Field.
In the first inning, Santander grounded out to first base on a changeup that he chased down and out of the zone.
Santander then led off the top of the third inning with a walk. He took a called strike, a sinker outside and high out of the zone, before watching the next four pitches sail away and outside for the free pass.
Santander would give the Bisons the lead in the top of the fifth inning, crushing a 396 ft solo shot over the right field wall.
You can bank on Anthony Santander 💰 The rehabbing @BlueJays outfielder crushes a homer for the @BuffaloBisons
After taking a first-pitch slider for a ball, Santander watched two pitches go through for strikes (one was outside the zone) before fouling off a high sinker.
Rochester starter Adrian Sampson went back to the changeup that got him to ground out to first base, but the slugger was ready, driving the low offering over the right field wall.
That would be his lone hit of the day, as he ground out to first base in the top of the seventh in his last at-bat.
It will take more than just good at-bats for Anthony Santander to return to the Blue Jays
Santander dislocated his left shoulder back in May and dealt with nagging inflammation in his labrum, so he's still more comfortable from his left side than the right as a switch-hitter. That's one of the biggest hurdles he'll need to clear with the Bisons.
«We're kind of running out of time, so we'll see how he feels,» Toronto manager John Schneider said. «The right-handed swing is good enough for games, and that will probably continue to get better as he goes, so here we go.»
How much of Santander do the Blue Jays need, then? Would it be enough if he were only swinging from the left side?
«It depends on how he's hitting left-handed, to be honest with you,» Schneider said. «It's tough to start him against a righty and make a move in the fifth inning if he can't hit right-handed. Ideally, he's good from both. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. We'll see how the games go, and we'll see how the left-handed swings go. If that's something we think is going to be good for us, then maybe.»
Santander will DH early, but the Blue Jays want to see him in left field and right field, too.
George Springer has been thriving as the Blue Jays' primary DH all season long, especially in the second half, and while Springer could easily slide out to a corner outfield spot for the postseason, Toronto still wants Santander to look capable with the glove.
Santander will be force-fed on this rehab assignment, too. As Schneider said, the Blue Jays are racing the clock, and the Bisons have just 10 games left before their schedule ends on Sept. 21.
Sure, Santander could face some live pitching off to the side to continue this «rehab» as a hitter, but Sept. 21 feels like a hard deadline at this point.
Source: MLB.com
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 12 | 152 ANSWERS Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Anthony Santander crushes 396 ft home run in first rehab game in Triple-A Buffalo Do you think Blue Jays outfielder Anthony Santander will be back by the series against the Kansas City Royals? | ||
| Yes | 58 | 38.2 % |
| No | 75 | 49.3 % |
| Too early to tell | 19 | 12.5 % |
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