After trying and failing to bring prominent names like Juan Soto and Roki Sasaki to Toronto, the Blue Jays have made their first major free-agent signing of the offseason, bringing in outfielder Anthony Santander on a five-year deal that will pay the slugger more than $90 million.
Santander, 30, is coming off of a career year with the Baltimore Orioles, making his first All-Star team and hitting a career-best 44 home runs. That total put him behind only Aaron Judge in the American League, and just Judge and Shohei Ohtani in the majors. The switch-hitting outfielder also won his first Silver Slugger. Jon Morosi first reported the agreement, which includes an option.
Free-agent outfielder Anthony Santander in agreement with Toronto Blue Jays on five-year contract for more than $90M, source tells @TheAthletic. Deal includes club option. First on agreement: @JonMorosi
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 20, 2025
Santander was the No. 9 free-agent prospect on The Athletic’s 2024-25 MLB Top 40 Free Agent Big Board and the second-highest ranked outfielder, behind only top free-agent prospect Juan Soto. The Athletic’s Tim Britton predicted Santander would receive a five-year deal worth $105 million.
The Orioles selected Santander with the first pick in the 2016 Rule 5 Draft after Cleveland left him unprotected. Santander averaged just 44 big-league games in his first four seasons with the Orioles before becoming an everyday player in 2021. Over the last three seasons, he’s played in at least 152 games in each season, while hitting 105 home runs combined leading up to his free agency.
Santander played for his native Venezuela in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Santander hit 32 of his homers in 2024 from the left side, but for both 2024 and his career, his splits are relatively even. Last year he had a slash line of .239/.309/.513 in 485 plate appearances from the left side and .225/.305/.488 in 180 plate appearances from the right side. Over his career, he has a .772 OPS as a left-handed batter and a .786 OPS as a right-handed hitter.
In his big-league career, Santander has primarily played right field, although he has also played some left field and has also played some first base over the last two seasons. Major League Baseball’s Statcast rated him with a negative-2 Outs Above Average in the outfield. He has only finished with a positive OAA twice, finishing with a 1 Out Above Average in 2018 and 2020.
Santander rejected the Orioles’ qualifying offer so the Orioles will receive draft-pick compensation.
(Photo of Santander: Greg Fiume / Getty Images)
