Blue Jays and Angels frontrunners for Anthony Santander
Players who fit the Toronto Blue Jays keep flying off the board, but Anthony Santander remains.
Anthony Santander has been linked to many teams this winter, and Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports two new names to that list in the Los Angeles Angels and Detroit Tigers.
Petzold describes the Angels and Blue Jays as "the frontrunners» to sign Santander, while the Tigers view the switch-hitting outfielder as a backup plan if they can't sign Alex Bregman.
While Teoscar Hernandez was beloved in Toronto, Santander has always felt like a cleaner fit for what Ross Atkins is chasing due to the 30-year-old outfielder's ability to hit left-handed, as well as his better contact rates to pair with his power writes - Keegan Matheson of MLB.com.
Spotrac projects him to sign a five-year, $88 million deal this winter.
He is coming off a career year where he won his first Silver Slugger and was named to his first All-Star game.
The switch-hitting Santander is coming off a career year in which he belted a personal-best 44 home runs.
He's heading into his age-30 season and doing so on the heels of a .235/.308/.506 batting line (129 wRC+).
Santander doesn't hit for much average and typically carries a pedestrian (at best) walk rate, but he's been a consistent source of power for the O's in recent seasons. Dating back to 2020, the former Rule 5 pick is a .245/.312/.476 hitter with 134 home runs, a 7.8% walk rate and a 20.6% strikeout rate.
This past season's 8.7% walk rate was the best of Santander's career, while his 19.4% strikeout rate was his second-lowest in a full 162-game season.
Like mentioned before, his batting average leaves a lot to be desired, but he makes up for it with his stellar power.
He has six home runs in 27 games at the Rogers Center.
He could continue to find success as a member of the home team if the Blue Jays can land him.
The Blue Jays have yet to convince a superstar to join them as a free agent.
With options dwindling, Ross Atkins could be willing to overpay to land Santander.
I mean somebody has to take the Blue Jays money right?
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| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 30 | 230 ANSWERS Blue Jays and Angels frontrunners for Anthony Santander Will the Ross Atkins overpay to get Anthony Santander? | ||
| Yes | 72 | 31.3 % |
| No | 31 | 13.5 % |
| Of course he will | 41 | 17.8 % |
| Fire Ross Atkins before its too late! | 86 | 37.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
