Baltimore Orioles Made Right Move Letting All-Star Outfielder Leave in Free Agency

The Baltimore Orioles have lost a lot of talent in free agency this offseason, as two All-Stars signed deals with other teams.

Their ace, starting pitcher Corbin Burnes, agreed to a six-year, $210 million deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, one they will regret not matching.

They are lacking a top-of-the-rotation arm to duel with the other aces in the American League, providing a very difficult path to and during the postseason.

The other player who left them in free agency was right fielder Anthony Santander. He had to bide his time but eventually landed the kind of deal he was looking for with the Toronto Blue Jays.

There is an opt-out for Santander after the 2028 season, but that can be voided by the Blue Jays and trigger the acceptance of a 2030 team option, which would turn this into a six-year deal.

FULL DETAILS & BREAKDOWN:

Anthony Santander
Blue Jays
5 years
At least $92.5 million
Deferred money
Player opt out after year 4 that can be voided by team adding year 6 pic.twitter.com/Di1QhqnFab
— Ari Alexander (@AriA1exander) January 20, 2025

Toronto has been desperate to add talent to their roster over the last few offseason but has continually struck out. They finally landed a top hitter, allowing them to go for it in 2025, since this is the last campaign Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette will be under contract.

Having to face off against Santander in the division for the foreseeable future is certainly not an ideal outcome for the Orioles, but they made the correct move in not aggressively pursuing him and matching this kind of deal.

If they had the opportunity to bring him back on a short-term deal with opt-outs, it would have been smart for Baltimore to make a move to bring him back. But, that wasn’t going to happen with an offer of this caliber available.

The Blue Jays paid a premium price. Their desperation led to them offering what could end up being a six-year deal to a player who has some holes in his game.

Santander provides immense power, as he hit 44 home runs in 2024 and knocked in 102 runs. But there is some swing-and-miss to his approach and he doesn’t bring much else to the table as a below-average defender and base runner.

Eventually, Santander will be best suited as a designated hitter.

Given how much young talent the Orioles have on their roster and in the prospect pipeline, clogging things up with a one-dimensional player would have been a poor use of resources.

Baltimore is set with the addition of Tyler O’Neill to their outfield mix, as he provides elite defense in addition to power at the plate. He isn’t as durable as Santander has been, but there are other options for the team to turn to in the case of injury, such as Heston Kjerstad.

The former No. 2 overall pick should be the future in right field for the franchise, as Santander’s limited impact was no longer a fit in the long-term plans.