All-Star Outfielder Declined Baltimore Orioles Offer Before Signing With Blue Jays

The Baltimore Orioles offered their All-Star outfielder a contract, but he declined it to sign with their division rival.

Sep 11, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Anthony Santander (25) hits a home run against the Boston Red Sox in the eighth inning at Fenway Park. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles lost some key players this offseason.

One of those players is their All-Star outfielder Anthony Santander.

He signed a five-year, $92.5 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. The deal also includes a significant amount of deferred money.

Before agreeing to the contract with the Orioles' AL East division rivals, Santander reportedly turned down an offer from his former team.

Per Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun, the switch hitter declined a three-year offer from Baltimore because it did not meet his asking price.

The 30-year-old was a Rule 5 draft pick by the Orioles in 2016. He made his debut with the team in 2017 and stuck for eight seasons. In his time at Camden Yards, he slashed .246/.307/.469 with 155 home runs, 435 RBI and he owns a career WAR of 11.1.

2024 was the best season of the Venezuelan's time in the big leagues.

He had a .814 OPS with a career high in home runs (44), RBI (102), runs scored (91) and games played (155). He was also selected to his first All-Star team while winning his first Silver Slugger award.

Santander had a lot of interest in staying with the Orioles after the season, but Baltimore just did not make a good enough offer.

"As a player, you always have high hopes. You want to stay there, but this is a business. And then I went to free agency, we heard nothing from Baltimore, and then we got pretty good offers," Santander said while speaking with with the Baltimore Sun.

The Orioles were not willing to offer a long-term contract to their right fielder. They offered a short-term deal, but Santander ultimately went with the Blue Jays because of the contract length.

There are no hard feelings between the two sides, though.

"We spent really good time together," Santander said, "to be able to go from a losing team to a winning team, that's something that we'll never forget,"

Baltimore is in good shape without their slugging outfielder.

To replace him, they signed Tyler O'Neill to a shorter three-year deal.

O'Neill hit 31 home runs in 113 games for the Boston Red Sox last season, so he can replace a lot of the power lost. Additionally, the 29-year-old has won two Gold Gloves in his career, so the defensive ability is just as good, maybe even better than Santander.

The Orioles might have found a good replacement, but they will also have to face Santander at least 13 times this season since he stayed in the division.