Anthony Santander Free Agency: Yankees and AL East rivals in fierce battle for All-Star slugger after Juan Soto fallout – Report
Anthony Santander, a former outfield player for the Baltimore Orioles, is now among the top free agents that many teams would wish to have after his great 2024 season. The New York Yankees and other teams in the AL East have shown interest in him due to his performance, as former Yankees player Juan Soto signed for the New York Mets on a record deal on Monday.
Now that Soto has signed his historic $765 million contract with the Mets for 15 years, all eyes turn to whom the Yankees will take as their next right fielder.
According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the Yankees are not alone in going after Santander, as there are other teams that missed out on Soto too like the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays.
On Monday, Morosi took to his X handle to write a post about Santander's free agency and the interest of some AL East teams.
"Anthony Santander has strong interest from the AL East clubs that fell short on Juan Soto:
Blue Jays
Red Sox
Yankees
Santander’s 44 HR this season are the 5th-most by a switch hitter, following Mickey Mantle (twice), Lance Berkman, and Chipper Jones," Morosi wrote.
The Yankees have also been rumored to have an interest in different players such as Max Fried or Corbin Burnes who could pitch for them.
Nevertheless, Santander could prove to be Soto's replacement for the Yankees since he has similar power attributes.
Anthony Santander's breakout 2024 season sets the stage for a big free-agency decision
The year 2024 was a breakout season for Anthony Santander where he hit an all-time best of 44 homers and managed to get 102 RBIs. He played 155 games, in which he had a batting average of .235, with an OBP of .308 and a slugging percentage of .506.
He won his first Silver Slugger Award for his impressive statistics. For several seasons now, Santander has proven himself to be one of the premier power hitters around with an average of about 36 homers and 99 RBIs every 162 games since 2018.
His market demand suggests he could reportedly get a 4-5 year contract between $80m and $105m.
The bidding war for Santander will not only decide his future but also the future of the AL East rivals trying to sign him and improve their teams.