Santander showed up for the first full-squad workouts and the team’s picture day, but he was absent from Toronto’s first few Grapefruit League contests. Manager John Schneider finally told reporters why Wednesday morning.
Per MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson and Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, Santander was away from the team sorting out his visa. He is slated to return to Florida on Wednesday, participate in workouts on Thursday and finally suit up against the Detroit Tigers on Friday.
Santander, a 30-year-old outfielder from Venezuela, inked a five-year, $92.5 million contract with the Blue Jays in January.
In 155 games last season, Santander hit .235 with 44 home runs, 102 RBIs, an .814 OPS and a 2.9 WAR. The longtime Baltimore Orioles slugger made his first All-Star appearance, won his first Silver Slugger and finished 14th in AL MVP voting.
Since he became a regular MLB player in 2019, Santander has blasted 154 home runs – good for seventh-most in the AL in that span.
The Blue Jays are set to face the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday and the Orioles on Thursday. Santander’s expected debut on Friday is scheduled to get underway at 1:07 p.m. ET.