The Blue Jays intend to remove Anthony Santander from their ALCS roster, report Mitch Bannon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Manager John Schneider told reporters (including Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet) that Santander was dealing with back stiffness. The move is still pending approval from Major League Baseball and has not officially been announced by the team or the league.
Typically, players have three option seasons with one used each season during which the player spends at least 20 days on optional assignment in the minor leagues. A player is considered to be on optional assignment when on a club's 40-man roster but sent to the minor leagues while not on a rehab assignment. Brito, 24, was selected to the 40-man roster in Cleveland in November of 2022 in a move that protected him from that year's Rule 5 draft.