OF Anthony Santander signs 5-year deal with Blue Jays: Report

Outfielder Anthony Santander has signed with the Toronto Blue Jays, reports MLB Network's Jon Paul Morosi. The switch-hitting slugger agreed to a five-year deal with Toronto worth more than $90 million, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

The deal includes a team option for a sixth year, which would boost the overall value to $110 million. Santander can opt out after year three, but the Blue Jays could void the opt-out by picking up the contract's sixth year, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reports.

Santander, 30, had a career season in 2024 with free agency pending, smashing 44 home runs for the Baltimore Orioles while batting .235 with an .814 OPS.

Only Aaron Judge hit more homers among American League hitters. And those 44 home runs were the fifth-highest total by a switch-hitter in major league history.

He was ranked No. 11 on Yahoo Sports' list of the Top 50 MLB free agents going into the offseason.

Santander did most of his damage in 2024 as a power-hitting left-handed batter, hitting .239 with an .822 OPS and 32 homers. While batting right-handed, Santander slugged 12 home runs with a .225 average and .793 OPS.

Previously, the most home runs Santander hit in a season was 33 in 2022, along with 24 doubles and 89 RBI.

In eight seasons with the Orioles, Santander hit .246 with a .776 OPS, 155 home runs, 155 doubles and 435 RBI. He originally signed with the Cleveland Guardians as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela and the Orioles acquired him through the Rule 5 Draft in 2016.

With five seasons of 18 or more home runs, the Orioles got excellent value out of that pick.

In recent years, the Blue Jays have been better known for the free agents they’ve lost out on, including Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki. Toronto also showed interest in reuniting with outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, who played there from 2017–22.

However, the Jays still had three big names to pursue with Pete Alonso, Alex Bregman and Santander. They finally hooked a big fish for their lineup.

The question now becomes which position Santander will play. He manned right field for the majority of his career with Baltimore, but George Springer holds that spot in Toronto. Santander will then likely either play left field or bat mostly as a designated hitter. Most importantly, he brings left-handed power to the middle of the Blue Jays' batting order.

What to make of this deal for the Blue Jays?

After futile runs at a number of top free agents — Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes and Roki Sasaki all spurned Canada’s team this winter — the Jays found themselves in a position of desperation. Their roster, though capable of competing in 2025, remained incomplete and undermanned, particularly on offense. And with two of the club’s franchise cornerstones, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, just a year from free agency, the future was growing increasingly hazy. The pressure, for this franchise without a postseason win since 2016, had reached a fever pitch.

But on Monday, the Jays gave themselves some breathing room and a much-needed injection of power, with the club reportedly agreeing to terms with slugging outfielder Anthony Santander on a five-year contract. It’s an inevitable, obvious pairing between a team sorely lacking in pop and a free agent with immense juice.

Toronto finished 26th in home runs in 2024. No player but Guerrero surpassed 20 long balls. Only six players reached double digits. The club’s 156 homers were the franchise’s lowest single-season tally since 2004. It was, for a team with postseason aspirations, an embarrassing output.

Enter Santander. Read more. — Mintz