Both the New York Yankees and New York Mets are known to be wooing Juan Soto. Where could they turn if he decides to leave the Big Apple? Baltimore Orioles slugger Anthony Santander might be part of each club's backup plan.
Santander picked the perfect time to have a career year. The switch-hitter was named an All-Star for the first time, won his first Silver Slugger Award and finished 14th in American League MVP Award voting in 2024. He also set new career-high marks in OPS (.814), home runs (44), RBI (102) and runs scored (91).
Since the 30-year-old primarily plays the outfield, waiting until Soto decides on his future makes the most sense. Once that happens, teams who missed out could immediately turn to Santander as a Plan B. With the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox doing their best to land Soto, that could leave the Yankees and Mets looking elsewhere for offense.
Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer ranked MLB's best free agents ahead of next week's Winter Meetings. He ranked Santander eighth overall, naming the Mets, Yankees, Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers and Washington Nationals as potential fits for the slugger.
"Santander is tied to draft-pick compensation after rejecting a qualifying offer from the Baltimore Orioles, but that isn't likely to kill his earning power," Rymer wrote. "Projections for him tend to fall in the $20 million per year range, with B/R's Tim Kelly going for five years, $101 million."
That contract would be a slight overpay based on Spotrac's market-value estimate, which is for five years and just shy of $89 million. But if a bidding war starts between big-market teams who missed out on Soto, there's a real chance Santander's next contract could reach nine figures.
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