Anthony Santander is officially back with the Toronto Blue Jays, and Alek Manoah's tenure with the club could be coming to an end.
The Blue Jays officially reinstated Santander from the 60-day injured list on Tuesday, but to make room for him on the roster, they designated Alek Manoah for assignment and placed first baseman Ty France on the 10-day injured list with left oblique inflammation.
Manoah's future will be decided over the next seven days. Once a player is designated for assignment, he can either be placed on outright or unconditional release waivers.
If Manoah were to clear waivers, he would have the option of accepting an outright assignment or becoming a free agent because he has more than three years of MLB service time.
The 27-year-old righty has spent the 2025 season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and working to return to the big-league club. His last seven starts of the season came with triple-A Buffalo, where he pitched to a 2.97 ERA over 33.1 innings.
After finishing as a Cy Young finalist in 2022 for Toronto, posting a 2.24 ERA over 196.2 innings and earning the club's Game 1 start in the post-season, Manoah hasn't been able to recapture the form that saw him emerge as one of baseball's top young arms.
Drafted by the Blue Jays in the first round in 2019, Manoah's command took a major step back in 2023, and he eventually found himself back in the minor leagues.
Santander, meanwhile, isn't in Toronto's lineup for Tuesday's game against the Boston Red Sox, but he will be available off the bench. The 30-year-old has spent the last two weeks rehabbing a shoulder injury with Buffalo.
He concluded a 10-game stint with the Bisons on Sunday, one in which he went 7-for-32 with two doubles and two homers. He was 0-for-2 with two walks in his final minor-league game.
The 30-year-old took reps in left field during two games last week, but has made most of his appearances as the DH.
It initially appeared as if Santander would not be activated for the series opener against Boston, but the Blue Jays made the move shortly ahead of first pitch.
Toronto's major off-season addition has been out of the MLB lineup with a shoulder injury since May 29.
Before hitting the injured list, he was slashing .179/.273/.304 with six homers in 50 games for the Blue Jays. He mainly served as Toronto's designated hitter, but also spent time defensively in left and right field and at first base.
France, who was acquired from Minnesota at the trade deadline, has a .693 OPS and 1 home run over 37 games with the Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays (90-66) have a two-game lead on the New York Yankees in the AL East and have a magic number of four to clinch the divisional crown. They earned a playoff berth on Sunday after defeating the Kansas City Royals.
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