If the Yankees want to sign Anthony Santander, they have some competition to face within their division.
The New York Yankees’ dream of winning the Juan Soto MLB free agency sweepstakes went up in flames on Sunday, with the outfielder deciding to take his talents from the Bronx to Queens via a staggering 15-year, $765 million deal with the New York Mets.
Losing the bidding war for Soto brings pain to the Yankees, but it’s not the end of the world for them, either. There are other moves the Yankees can make in the offseason, and it could potentially include the addition of outfielder Anthony Santander, who is also on the radars of two other American League East clubs, namely the Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays — two teams that also missed out on Soto — per insider Jon Morosi of the MLB Network.
“Anthony Santander has strong interest from the AL East clubs that fell short on Juan Soto: Blue Jays, Red Sox, Yankees,” wrote Morosi in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“Santander’s 44 HR this season are the 5th-most by a switch hitter, following Mickey Mantle (twice), Lance Berkman, and Chipper Jones,” added Morosi.
Will the Yankees make a push for Anthony Santander after Juan Soto’s Mets decision
“Anthony Santander has strong interest from the AL East clubs that fell short on Juan Soto: Blue Jays, Red Sox, Yankees,” wrote Morosi in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“Santander’s 44 HR this season are the 5th-most by a switch hitter, following Mickey Mantle (twice), Lance Berkman, and Chipper Jones,” added Morosi.
Will the Yankees make a push for Anthony Santander after Juan Soto’s Mets decision
Santander has not played for a team other than the Baltimore Orioles so far in his MLB career, but a possible continuation of his tenure with the O’s got dimmer following the team’s inking of Tyler O’Neill in free agency. Also, Santander turned down a qualifying offer from the Orioles worth $21.05 million last November.
The 30-year-old Santander will not be mistaken for Soto, but he is coming off his best season in the big leagues thus far. In the 2024 campaign, Santander posted just a .235 batting average and only a.308 OBP, but he made up for those mediocre numbers with his powerful bat. Apart from his 44 home runs, Santander also recorded a .506 slugging percentage to go with a career-high 102 RBIs and an OPS+ of 134 — his highest ever in a non-Covid season. His strong start to the 2024 campaign earned him his first MLB All-Star nod.
It will be interesting to see what kind of deal the GSE Worldwide client will land next. For what it’s worth, Santander has an estimated market value worth $88.687 million through five years, per Spotrac.
