Anthony Santander went 2-for-4 in his rehab game Saturday, another step toward his return.

He picked up a double, a single, and a walk while serving as DH in Triple-A Buffalo's loss to the Rochester Red Wings.

Santander led off the game with a soft fly-ball single to right, then flew out in the third and struck out in the fifth.

He worked a seven-pitch walk in the seventh, showing real patience deep into the at-bat.

His best swing came in the ninth, lining a two-strike fastball down the right-field line off reliever Jake Bird to score a run from second. He was eventually stranded at third as Buffalo fell 7-3.

That's four games into this rehab stint. He'd played the outfield for seven innings Friday, picking up another single that day.

Why Sunday's finale carries real weight

This stint hasn't been entirely smooth. Santander was scratched from Buffalo's lineup Tuesday and Wednesday with mid-back discomfort before returning to action.

Across these four appearances, he's now 4-for-15 with a walk and three strikeouts, a small but encouraging sample given how long he's been away from competitive baseball.

Buffalo's season wraps up Sunday, and Santander is expected to play a full nine innings in the outfield, the clearest test yet of where his body actually stands.

Toronto will decide what comes next for him once that game is done.

If the Blue Jays feel he isn't quite ready to join the club for the stretch run, he'll move into a "stay-ready" group in Buffalo, continuing to take live at-bats in case something changes at the major-league level.

Santander signed a five-year, $92.5 million deal before the 2024-25 offseason and hasn't played a single game for Toronto this year, following a shoulder injury that also cost him most of last season.

In his limited action last year, he hit .175 with a .565 OPS and six home runs, numbers that make this rehab stretch feel like the real test of what's left in his bat.

Whether Sunday's outing clears him for an activation, or Toronto opts for more caution, should become clear almost immediately once that game wraps up.