Baltimore Orioles Slugger Setting Himself Up for Massive Free Agency Payday

A Baltimore Orioles slugger has put himself in a position to cash in as a free agent during the upcoming offseason.

Aug 7, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Baltimore Orioles right fielder Anthony Santander (25) celebrates in the dugout after hitting a home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during the eighth inning at Rogers Centre. / Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

There has been a lot to talk about when it comes to the Baltimore Orioles in the 2024 MLB season. They are in a tight race with the New York Yankees for the American League East that will go down to the wire.

Their roster is full of young, emerging stars with plenty more coming in their pipeline. Gunnar Henderson has been garnering MVP attention all season and top prospect Jackson Holliday looks to have found his form.

On the mound, Corbin Burnes is going to be in the running for the AL Cy Young award. The Orioles were also active ahead of the trade deadline, garnering headlines for the moves they made.

One of the hitters they acquired, Eloy Jimenez from the Chicago White Sox, has been excellent since getting to Baltimore. The sample size is small, as he has only 21 at-bats, but he has 11 hits with a 1.143 OPS.

Being inserted into a deeper, more talented lineup has certainly helped Jimenez get on track. One of the players who is flying under the radar and has also been mashing for the Orioles this season is outfielder Anthony Santander.

Santander, who made his first All-Star team this year, has already reset his career-high for home runs in a season with 34 and counting. Yankees star Aaron Judge is the only player in the AL who has more home runs than Santander this season. 

There is a strong chance he sets career-highs in hits, RBI, runs scored and total bases as well. He could not have picked a better time to break out as Santander is set to hit free agency this offseason.

While casual fans may be surprised to see his name atop some of the power-hitting leaderboards in baseball, teams have been taking notice for years. Santander has been a consistent source of home runs in Baltimore for the last few seasons, hitting 28+ in three straight campaigns.

In the opinion of Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report, Santander has improved his stock heading into free agency in 2024 as much as any impending free agent. He used two New York Mets players as examples for what his market could be.

“...Frankly, his numbers over that time (1,772 PA, .249/.319/.484, 95 HR, 20.3 K%) aren't much different from Pete Alonso's (1,836 PA, .244/.333/.497, 109 HR, 21.0 K%), and Santander is only about seven weeks older than the Polar Bear.

That isn't to say they're destined to end up with similar deals, but Santander sure did pick a fantastic time for a career year. He might finish with 45 home runs and a long-term deal even more lucrative than the eight-year, $162M contract Brandon Nimmo inked two winters ago,” Miller wrote.

Landing a contract of that size will certainly raise some eyebrows, as Santander isn’t a household name. But, the switch-hitting source of power is going to get paid this winter. He consistently hits the ball hard and is solid in right field, setting him up for a nice payday.