In a perfect world, the Blue Jays discussion around the colossal flop of a free-agent signing that Anthony Santander has been would be about how the team will salvage something from the expenditure performance-wise going forward.
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team → salvage → expenditure
Instead, general manager Ross Atkins has been forced to address ill-timed and ill-conceived remarks that have made the injured Jays outfielder an unwanted story this off-season for the last-place team.
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outfielder → force → team
Speaking to reporters in Las Vegas on Tuesday, the opening day of general manager’s meetings, Atkins ripped into Santander for his recent posting of Islamaphobic videos on his Instagram account.
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Atkins → speak → account
The videos, since deleted by the 32-year-old native of Venezuela, were the last thing the team needed with regards to Santander, who has been a disaster since signing a five-year, $92.5-million US deal with the team before the 2025 season.
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who → delete → season
“There really aren’t words to express my level of disappointment with him making those comments,” Atkins told reporters in Vegas.
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Atkins → express → Vegas
“I’ve expressed that to him.
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I → express → him
“Anything exacerbating some level of anti-Islamic hate is just extremely concerning, extremely disappointing.
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Anything → exacerbate → hate
I also talked to Anthony about his lack of awareness.”
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I → talk → awareness
Santander ‘should’ address situation:
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Santander → address → situation
Atkins
Atkins remarks are certainly sharper than the initial response from the team when the posts first caused a stir.
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posts → cause → stir
A statement from the team said: “Baseball is for everyone and the Blue Jays have created an inclusive experience where all fans feel welcome at our ballpark.
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fans → say → ballpark
“Individual comments do not represent our organization’s values and beliefs.”
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comments → represent → values
Perhaps as a result of public criticism of the team, Atkins may have felt that he had no choice but to be more forceful on Tuesday.
uncertain
he → feel → Tuesday
When reporters asked the GM whether Santander will address the issue himself, Atkins was clear in how he felt about it.
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he → ask → it
“I told him that he needed to and that he should,” Atkins said.
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Atkins → tell → him
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How bad has the Santander experience been?
The Jays entered the off-season with Santander already being a concern.
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Santander → recommend → season
A team that was starved for offence en route to a last-place finish in 2026 saw Santander miss all of the season after having shoulder surgery.
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Santander → starve → surgery
His first season in Toronto wasn’t much better as Santander appeared in just 54 games in an injury-riddled season, banging just six home runs.
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Santander → appear → runs
It has been a huge disappointment for the Jays, who were tempted by the 44-homer season Santander unleashed in Baltimore in 2024 and signed him to the five-year deal in the hopes similar production would follow him north of the border.
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production → tempt → border
The 32-year-old Venezuelan, who is entering his third year with the Jays, was expected to be a major focus of the off-season as the team seeks ways to improve its offence and salvage something from what to this point has been one of the worst free-agent signings in franchise history.
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what → enter → history
The social media actions of Santander didn’t exactly start things on the right foot.
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actions → start → foot
As MLB moves into offseason awards week, the Jays’ 30-year-old third baseman Kazuma Okamoto finished a distant seventh in voting for American League rookie of the year.
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baseman → move → year
Okamoto, who led the offensively struggling Jays with 33 home runs and 92 RBIs in his first year playing in North America, had one third-place, four fourth-place and six fifth-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
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who → lead → America
The near-unanimous winner was Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle, who received 28 of 30 first-place votes.
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who → receive → votes
The Aporia
