After failing to land either Shohei Ohtani and Roki Sasaki in consecutive offseason sweepstakes, the Blue Jays finally managed to land a high-profile free agent by reportedly luring slugging corner outfielder Anthony Santander away from the AL East division-rival Orioles with a five-year, $92.5 million contract. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal adds that the agreement includes a $17.5 million club option for 2030 and an opt-out following the 2027 season. There’s a lot to unpack here, but let’s start by taking a deeper dive into how Santander’s arrival injects some much-needed life into Toronto’s lineup and his immediate fantasy outlook north of the border.
Anthony Santander’s deal with the Blue Jays is for five years and more than $90 million, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 20, 2025
How does Anthony Santander impact Toronto’s lineup?
Here’s an oversimplification: Santander provides Toronto’s lineup with an immediate jolt of electricity as a certifiable run-producing middle-of-the-order force. The switch-hitting 30-year-old slugger, who blasted a career-best 44 dingers last year in his final season with the Orioles, has eclipsed 28 round-trippers in each of the past three seasons. His presence provides the Blue Jays with some additional lineup protection behind franchise cornerstone Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who is slated to reach free agency next offseason unless the two sides reach a long-term contract extension. With those negotiations expected to ramp up in the coming weeks, having Santander in the fold as a legitimate cleanup hitter for the next half-decade could play a role in helping get a deal across the finish line prior to spring training. It’s possible the Blue Jays aren’t done adding either since they’ve also been linked to first baseman Pete Alonso in recent weeks, but Santander’s arrival eliminates the club’s biggest need for a heart-of-the-order bat to protect Guerrero Jr. and shore up their massive hole at designated hitter.
Missing out on Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasaki earlier this month to the Dodgers ever-growing Death Star represents a devastating body blow to Toronto’s long-term outlook. However, general manager Ross Atkins has spent the offseason assembling a lineup that appears poised to compete next season in an absolutely loaded AL East division that includes a pair of perennial contenders with the Yankees and Orioles in addition to the Red Sox and Rays boasting a ton of impact young talent ascending to the majors. Toronto’s most significant offseason move prior to the Santander signing was probably the one they didn’t make, electing to hang onto impending free agent Bo Bichette, who was limited to just 81 games last year due to persistent calf issues, instead of shipping him away to kick-start a potential long-term rebuild. In addition to retaining Bichette (and Guerrero Jr.), the Blue Jays also acquired defensive wizard Andrés Giménez from the Guardians last month in a three-team swap to shore up a hole at the keystone. There are some questions on the pitching side of the ledger that still need to be answered, but the Blue Jays are going to score plenty of runs and Santander will be at the epicenter of it all.
Does Anthony Santander’s fantasy outlook change in Toronto?
Not much. The fact that Santander will continue to reside in the AL East is a bigger deal than fantasy managers might expect since he won’t have to go through the typical adjustment period that most free agents face as they switch leagues and are forced to acclimate to entirely new environments. His familiarity with the AL East should enable him to hit the ground running and batting directly behind a generational talent in Guerrero Jr. should lead to plenty of run-producing opportunities. Legitimate bounce-back seasons from Bichette and veteran George Springer would also go a long way to improving his fantasy fortunes from a counting stats perspective.
The transition from Oriole Park at Camden Yards to the Rogers Centre isn’t a seismic shift from a park factors standpoint, especially for a switch-hitter like Santander, but it’s worth noting that Toronto has been a much friendlier environment for right-handed pop per Baseball Savant’s three-year park factors than the “Walltimore” era that is drawing to a close. There are natural ebbs and flows for any slugger, and while we’re not anticipating a repeat of last year’s 44-homer output, it seems reasonable to forecast at least 30-35 round-trippers per-season as he enters his early 30’s.
While most of the fantasy factors on Blue Jays manager John Schneider’s lineup card stand to benefit from Santander’s presence, the biggest loser from a playing time standpoint here is unheralded prospect Will Wagner, who was the logical in-house candidate to open next year as the club’s primary designated hitter. With Daulton Varsho likely to miss time at the outset of next season recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, Santander figures to spend some time in the outfield before taking over as the Blue Jays’ everyday designated hitter.
Santander’s presence as a central component of Toronto’s extremely strong lineup, in addition to his familiarity with the AL East and established multi-year track record as an upper-echelon four-category impact contributor, make it relatively straightforward for fantasy managers to forecast him as a near-lock to finish next season as a top 25 fantasy outfielder.
