Toronto made a play for Shohei Ohtani last year and was in the mix for Juan Soto before he joined the New York Mets in December. The Blue Jays also were reportedly one of the finalists for Roki Sasaki before the Japanese pitcher said he intends to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
But Toronto managed to put Santander in its lineup alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and George Springer. The Blue Jays are looking to rebound after finishing last in the AL East with a 74-88 record in 2024.
Santander set career highs with 44 homers, 102 RBIs and 91 runs scored in 155 games for Baltimore last year. The outfielder batted .235 with a .506 slugging percentage while making the AL All-Star team for the first time.
Santander, who turned 30 in October, was the majors’ first switch hitter to reach 40 homers since 2006. He became the fourth switch hitter to hit at least 44 homers in a season, joining Mickey Mantle (twice), Lance Berkman and Chipper Jones.
The Venezuelan slugger helped Baltimore get into the playoffs for the second straight year, but it was swept by Kansas City in the opening round.
Santander received a qualifying offer after the season, so the Orioles will receive a compensatory pick after the first round of this year's amateur draft. The Blue Jays lose their second draft pick and $500,000 in 2026 international signing bonus allocation.
Santander signed with Cleveland as an international free agent in July 2011. He was selected by Baltimore in the Rule 5 draft in December 2016.
After being sidelined by right elbow inflammation, he made his major league debut with the Orioles on Aug 18, 2017, but he appeared in only 13 games that first year.
Santander had a breakout performance in 2022, batting .240 with 33 homers and 89 RBIs in 152 games. He stamped himself as part of an emerging group of young players as the Orioles went 83-79 after losing 110 games in the previous season.
Santander hit .257 with 28 homers, 95 RBIs and a career-high 41 doubles as Baltimore won the 2023 AL East title with a 101-61 record. The Orioles then were swept by the Rangers in their AL Division Series.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb