The tone of this winter for the Toronto Blue Jays already feels both eerily similar and vastly different from this time a year ago.
Both last year and this year, the Blue Jays' primary goal was and is to land the top free agent on the market--Shohei Ohtani in 2023, and Juan Soto in 2024. But whereas the Jays were coming off a playoff berth a season ago, they're now the cellar-dwellers of the American League East.
Urgency is at an all-time high in Toronto, and the Blue Jays could use help on both sides of the ball in free agency. They're not seen as favorites to land Soto by any means, but they could still improve their club if they land another free-agent outfielder from a division rival.
Baltimore Orioles All-Star Anthony Santander has Blue Jay written all over him, a switch-hitting corner outfielder who could provide much-needed protection for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the middle of the order.
Recently, Ryan Finkelstein of Just Baseball predicted that Santander would land with the Blue Jays on a five-year, $110 million contract.
"If you are going to hit free agency, it is best to do it after a 44-home run campaign," Finkelstein said. "Anthony Santander has been a consistent source of power for the Baltimore Orioles throughout his career, but cleared 40 homers and 100 RBIs for the first time in his final year with the club."
"If the Toronto Blue Jays strike out in their pursuit of Juan Soto, maybe they turn their attention to Santander and look to poach a power threat from one of their division rivals."
The 30-year-old Santander would be an ideal fit to bat behind Guerrero and Bo Bichette, two stars with high on-base percentages, in the Toronto batting order. With a .506 slugging percentage and 102 RBI this past season, the Venezuelan slugger was among the best middle-of-the-order bats in the majors.
Strengthening the roster and weakening the Orioles at the same time would be a big step for the Blue Jays to take in their quest to return to AL East prominence. With a few more shrewd moves, Toronto could finally become the World Series contender they've long dreamed of becoming.
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