What Signing Anthony Santander Brings to Blue Jays’ Lineup
A few days after missing out on Japan’s Roki Sasaki, who announced his decision to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, the Toronto Blue Jays have pivoted to a major offensive addition, signing free agent slugger Anthony Santander.
Santander has reportedly agreed to a five-year, $92.5-million contract with the Blue Jays, as MLB Network’s Jon Morosi first reported Monday. It includes an average annual value of $18.5 million through 2029.
The 30-year-old’s deal also features a club option for 2030, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. He adds that the ‘24 All-Star can opt out of his contract after Year 3, with the club able to void that clause by triggering a sixth guaranteed season, bumping the total value to $110 million.
Santander’s deal is the third-largest signed by a free agent in franchise history, behind Kevin Gausman (five years, $110 million) and George Springer’s contracts (six years, $150 million).
The switch-hitting outfielder enjoyed a career year with the O’s last season, posting career-highs in games played (155), home runs (44), RBIs (102), SLG (.506), wRC+ (129, 100 league average) and fWAR (3.3). He only trailed Shohei Ohtani (54) and Aaron Judge (58) for the major-league lead in round-trippers.
Santander was a late bloomer, never crushing more than 20 bombs in any of his first five big-league seasons. But he’s emerged into one of the sport’s most feared thumpers since 2022, blasting 105 home runs – sixth-most in baseball – with a .478 SLG and 124 wRC+ in that span.
Much of the Venezuelan slugger’s production derives from his ability to elevate pitches off his barrel to the pull side of the field, as he’s pulled the third-most fly balls (172) among qualified major-league hitters (min. 100 plate appearances) since his breakout ‘22 campaign. He trails only Cleveland’s José Ramírez (179) and Texas’ Marcus Semien (207).
From a matchup standpoint, the former Oriole presents as a tough opponent from both sides of the plate, considering he produced at least a .480 SLG and a whiff rate of less than 21 percent against all three pitch types (fastball, breaking ball, off-speed) in 2024.
Santander’s arrival marks the first meaningful improvement to Toronto’s run creation, a major area of need entering this winter after last season’s offence worsened for a second consecutive year, finishing
20th in SLG (.389) and 26th in home runs (156).
The move will provide much-needed middle-of-the-order protection for the club’s top hitter, first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. It should also alleviate some of the pressure on other notable bats, such as shortstop Bo Bichette, who’ll be determined to bounce back in a contract year following an injury-plagued 2024 campaign.
In Baltimore, Santander primarily occupied right field, logging 4,213 career innings at that position. But he may have to move to left, where he’s played 638 innings in the majors, with George Springer already residing in right. Alternatively, the Blue Jays could rotate both players through the DH spot next season, which is currently unoccupied.
Post-Santander signing, Toronto’s projected Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) payroll for 2025 has jumped above the second luxury tax threshold of $261, sitting at approximately $263 million, per FanGraphs’ Roster Resource.
That leaves the front office with roughly $18 million in off-season spending before reaching the third threshold at $281 million. If they exceed that figure, they’d be subject to a 42.5-percent tax surcharge and their highest draft selection would be pushed back 10 places.
With that remaining flexibility, the Blue Jays will likely seek another notable bat to complement their offence, as well as an impact starting pitcher and a meaningful bullpen acquisition to wrap a bow around their off-season.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.