Anthony Santander admits Orioles had ‘zero chance’ at re-signing him with their offer

Anthony Santander admits Orioles had ‘zero chance’ at re-signing him with their offer

After the Juan Soto domino dropped in early December, former Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander was one of the best bats at his position available in free agency. It took a little while for that shoe to drop, but Santander moved in-division and eventually signed a five-year, $92.5 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays.

While his average annual value ($18.5 million) was slightly below what, say, MLB Trade Rumors projected ($20 million) at the start of the offseason, the alleged three-year deal that his former team offered him wasn’t in the ballpark for what he wanted, according to Santander himself.

“Zero chance at all,” he said last week about possibly signing that three-year deal, according to Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun. “They (made) an offer, but it wasn’t even close. We get it, we understand. It’s a business side. (GM Mike Elias) is really smart about it. We’re smart about it, too. You have to be patient, and Toronto gave me an opportunity.”

Santander had arguably the best season of his career last year, smashing a career-high 44 home runs with a .814 OPS and 134 OPS+. He made the All-Star team for the first time in his career and became a three-WAR player for the first time of his career (per FanGraphs), despite being awful defensively.

I understand not wanting to shell out big money for a hitter who’s been good-not-great at the dish with bad outfield defense. He doesn’t get on-base at an elite rate, but does walk a decent amount (career 7.3 walk rate) with 30-home-run potential. That’s not nothing. The Orioles essentially replaced him by signing Tyler O’Neill–who, when he’s on the field, also mashes; but that’s a big when given his last few seasons–to a three-year deal worth nearly $50 million.

Few players have taken the Blue Jays’ money over the last several years, and Santander was one of them. He has an opt-out after 2027, but perhaps he gets moved later if he’s able to sustain his recent production if Toronto isn’t competitive. One could assume they finish toward the bottom–if not last–in the AL East in 2025, but you still have to play the games!

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