After Juan Soto came off the board by signing with the New York Mets, many expected the dominos to quickly fall for other top outfielders in MLB free agency. Weeks later, Anthony Santander and Teoscar Hernandez are still unsigned with only a few clubs left competing for them. While several teams are interested in Santander, there’s believed to be a battle between two American League clubs.
Santander, age 30, is coming off his first All-Star selection with the Baltimore Orioles. The switch-hitter, who has 155 career home runs, also won his first Silver Slugger Award this past season. Despite the accolades he received in 2024, MLB free agency hasn’t worked out in his favor.
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- Anthony Santander stats (ESPN): .235/.308/.506, .814 OPS, 44 home runs, 102 RBI, 25 doubles
The void left in the Orioles lineup has already been filled by outfielder Tyler O’Neill, who signed a three-year contract with Baltimore. Meanwhile, the New York Yankees replaced Soto with the Cody Bellinger trade and the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Michael Conforto. In just a few weeks, potential landing spots evaporated.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the Toronto Blue Jays have been picked by “nearly everyone” as the likeliest team to sign Santander. Right behind Toronto in terms of odds are the Boston Red Sox, who missed out on Soto.
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- Anthony Santander StatCast stats: 79th percentile Batting Run Value, 25th percentile Fielding Run Value, 28th percentile Range (-2 OAA), 23rd percentile Arm Value
While Santander set career-highs in home runs (44) and RBI (102) last season, he also finished with his lowest batting average (.235) since 2018 and posted his worst OBP (.308) in four years. However, the veteran outfielder has still posted a .770-plus OPS in three consecutive seasons and he had a .325 OBP in 2023.
Hernandez will likely come off the board first, with the Blue Jays and Red Sox also interested in the reigning World Series champion. Once he is signed, though, whoever doesn’t land him could pivot quickly to Santander on a multi-year deal with a similar average annual value.
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