The Toronto Blue Jays could turn their attention to Cody Bellinger after missing out on Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette.
Toronto has been linked to adding a bat this offseason, despite already signing Kazuma Okamoto. Yet, after Tucker and Bichette signed, there isn’t much out there besides Bellinger who fits Toronto.
However, Blue Jays analyst Steve Simmons of The Toronto Sun believes Bellinger could be similar to Anthony Santander and may not be better.
“Cody Bellinger is still available in free agency,” Simmons wrote on Sunday. “He hit .188 against the Blue Jays in the Divisional Series. The Yankees will overpay to get him and he may be no better than a recovered Anthony Santander.
“One of manager John Schneider’s strengths last season was his ability to move people in and out of positions and places in the batting order: It meant everybody was available just about every night. Had the Jays signed Tucker and not traded Santander, Schneider would have had little room to move players around. Not signing Tucker and not bothering with Bichette may give the Jays an opportunity to maintain their everyman culture.”
Santander was a massive failure of a signing in his first season with the Blue Jays, as he dealt with plenty of injuries. So, the hope is that a healthy Santander can give Toronto similar production to what Bellinger would do, without dishing out another $30 million+ a season.
Santander hit .175 with 6 home runs and 18 RBIs last season in just 54 games.
Blue Jays Expect Santander to be Better in 2026
Part of the reason why Toronto may not sign Bellinger is due to the team expecting a bounce-back for Santander.
Santander is expected to be fully healthy in spring training, and Schneider has full confidence in him.
“Tony is going to be huge for us,” said Schneider. “Speaking to him at the end of the year and in the postseason, he battled to get back. … He wanted to be part of it so bad. He wanted to get off on the right foot. It didn’t happen.”
Schneider believes Santander is motivated going into 2026 to put his disappointing season behind him.
“He is motivated. He is hungry to get back to the player we know he is,” Schneider added. “He’s a big part of what we’re doing. Again, I don’t want him — I’ve told him this, ‘I don’t want you to think you have to do anything you don’t do well. You don’t have to come back and hit .300 with 50 homers to make up for last year.’ We need Tony to fit in the way we know he can when we signed him.”
Santander signed a five-year, $92.5 million deal with the Blue Jays last offseason.
Toronto Could Pivot to Bellinger
After losing out on Tucker and Bichette, the Blue Jays could pivot to Bellinger.
MLB.com’s Will Leitch believes Toronto could try to outbid the New York Yankees to sign Bellinger to add a left-handed hitter to the lineup.
“The Jays arguably are still a bat away from where they need to be, but the options are dwindling fast. Cody Bellinger is still out there, but if the Jays can’t pry him away from the Yankees, Toronto might suddenly have some concerns with its lineup,” Leitch wrote.
Bellinger could be a solid addition to Toronto’s lineup. But whether or not the Blue Jays will land one of them is uncertain.
Blue Jays Get Concerning Message on Potential Pursuit of Cody Bellinger