Toronto Blue Jays Reportedly Have More Payroll Room Even After Anthony Santander Signing

The Blue Jays officially introduced Santander to the media on Tuesday and they reporteldy have more room to make additional moves.
Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins (glasses) is interviewed during spring training at Spectrum Field in 2020.
Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins (glasses) is interviewed during spring training at Spectrum Field in 2020. | Douglas DeFelice-Imagn Images

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The Toronto Blue Jays reportedly have more payroll flexibility even in the wake of signing Anthony Santander to a five-year deal earlier this week.

Santander signed the five-year pact worth $92.5 million, becoming the latest big-money move that the Jays have made this offseason: They previously acquired Andres Gimenez and the nearly $100 million remaining on his contract while also signing Jeff Hoffman to a $33 million deal.

Keegan Matheson of MLB.com had the information on the rest of the Jays plans:

(Ross) Atkins says the Blue Jays are working “around the clock” to continue to add to the team, and even after Santander’s deal, the club has the financial flexibility to push further. The free-agent market is still full of names who would help, including first baseman Pete Alonso and outfielder Jurickson Profar, and Toronto remains involved in the market for a veteran starter.

We heard that the Jays had interest in Profar on Tuesday and the connection to Alonso has been there for weeks, but appears more realistic after the Mets went in another direction and signed Jesse Winker.

Furthermore, the Jays have been connected to third baseman Alex Bregman, though that fit seems a little less realistic at this point.

Toronto is coming off a season in which they went 74-88 and finished last in the American League East. The addition of Santander will help the offense, but they could use further help to pair with him and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

They'll also count on bounce back years from Bo Bichette and George Springer.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.