TORONTO -- You’ve got to feel right to succeed as a feel hitter.
So much of the conversation around Anthony Santander’s season stems from that concept. Santander was back for Sunday afternoon’s 3-2 loss to the Tigers, batting fifth as the DH after being held out of the starting lineup for the first two games of the series.
It was the second time in the span of a week that Santander had to sit out multiple games with an ailment. First it was the left shoulder, the product of a dive into the stands in Anaheim. Then it was the hip, which he first felt on a swing on Thursday. These setbacks take a toll, especially for a slugger who’s struggled to find a rhythm in his early days with a new club.
“I’m battling,” Santander said in Spanish from his locker at Rogers Centre. “Really, I am. But I’m staying positive.”
Sunday marked a much-needed new beginning, but Santander isn’t back to 100 percent yet. The shoulder is still bothering him, as is the hip. He isn’t using it as an excuse for going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, but in one way or another this is all connected.
For a guy who relies on consistent reps to get in a rhythm all the starting and stopping can be tough to navigate. That was visible in some of Santander’s at-bats against the Tigers, some near-misses mixed in with the frustrating end results.
“I thought he took some really good swings today,” said manager John Schneider. “ … I thought he just missed some balls. That's kind of been the story of his season.”
Santander looked ready to rewrite that story earlier in May. He made good on the label of slow starter this season, but he seemed to be turning a corner with a great series at Angel Stadium.
The shoulder issue kept Santander out for three games in Seattle and he failed to produce at a high clip in his return against Tampa Bay. Then “something strange” happened to his hip, and he had to sit out a couple more games.
A sequence like that will test even the most patient of players. But the Blue Jays have been adamant about their trust in Santander.
“He’s going to turn it around,” said Schneider. “Tony is an open book, and he has been since Day One. So [we’re] just kind of touching base with him and making sure he's good. He's working through some things mechanically, and he’s a big-time feel hitter, too. So just trying to get that feel right, but just really letting them know that we’ve got confidence in him. He's going to be a big part of what we're doing this year and going forward.”
Sliding back into the lineup was a major step. Never mind that Santander was batting fifth rather than his usual No. 3 spot, or that he was kept out of the outfield a little while longer. This is something to build on.
It’s all he needs to keep looking ahead.
“Mentally, I feel really good, thank God,” said Santander. “The team gave me a really warm welcome, they welcomed me with open arms. My teammates have been with me from the start, the staff too. That makes me feel good. It gives me the will to keep working hard, not throw in the towel, so that eventually we can get the results we’re looking for to help the team win.”
In a way, the “one step forward, two steps back” nature of Santander’s season applies to the team as a whole as well. We’ve seen flashes of how high this group can go, but the Blue Jays are still waiting for everything to click. They need Santander at his best for that to happen. Sunday’s narrow loss was another example of that.
The confidence has stayed steady all around. That’s where all the talk of unity and unselfishness comes in. Santander feels the love from his teammates, and he hears it too.
“It’s difficult, but thank God I’ve been in this situation before,” said Santander. “The support from my teammates has been really important. And we’re coming in every day trying to get better. We’re not getting the results at the moment, but we can’t control the results. We can only control coming in here, getting to work and doing our best. I haven’t thrown in the towel yet.”
From the locker next to Santander’s, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. chimed in.
“Dios aprieta, pero no ahorca,” said Guerrero.
God squeezes, but doesn’t choke. No one is out of it yet.