While rumours swirl about the Blue Jays and Roki Sasaki, especially after a trade with the Guardians that saw them acquire an additional $2 million in international pool signing money as well as outfielder Myles Straw, new reports are emerging that the Blue Jays are still very much engaged with free agent outfielder Anthony Santander.
Although Straw plays primarily centrefield and is a former Gold Glove winner, he was not the centrepiece of the trade; he was a salary dump by Cleveland. That the Blue Jays still remain in the hunt for Santander, signifies that Ross Atkins may not be done yet.
The Blue Jays GM is under increasing pressure to do something big - in spite of his acquisitions of Andres Gimenez and Jeff Hoffman, the Blue Jays have still not landed the big bat that so many fans covet.
Santander could change that. The outfielder/DH slugged 44 home runs for Baltimore last year, on route to a Silver Slugger Award and an All-Star game appearance.
The Blue Jays have been connected to the switch hitter seemingly all offseason, in a move that seems to make more and more sense with each passing day. The fact that Cleveland is covering nearly $4MM of the money owed to Straw, gives the Blue Jays even more leeway.
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