
The Toronto Blue Jays made quite a splash on Monday after giving free agent outfielder Anthony Santander a five-year, $92.5 million deal with an option for a sixth season. After months, even years of pursuing a top talent (they swung and missed on Shohei Ohtani, Corbin Burnes, Juan Soto, Roki Sasaki, and many others), the Jays are finally getting a potential difference-maker.
The 30-year-old Santander is coming off a 44-homer campaign with a 129 wRC+. He has as many extra-base hits in the last three seasons as Soto, with 198, which highlights his exceptional slugging ability.
Toronto might still have a flexible budget

The Blue Jays, however, are not done. If they want to impress Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and sell him the idea that they are building a winning team, they need to make moves like this one. And that’s the intention of top baseball guy Ross Atkins:
“The Blue Jays still have flexibility to spend, I’m told, after landing Anthony Santander. Their recent free-agent pursuits, going back to Shohei Ohtani, show that their ‘budget’ isn’t a rigid number anyways. Still lots of opportunities to be aggressive and fill out this roster,” team insider Keegan Mathieson posted on X.
The Blue Jays need to keep their foot on the gas and secure more signings
The Blue Jays were recently linked with top free agent first baseman Pete Alonso and multiple reports suggest they are looking for starting pitching help. They have also been connected with relief pitcher Carlos Estevez and other bullpen pieces.
Now that the free agent market is picking up again, the Blue Jays need to pounce and show the world that they can, indeed, hang with the New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox, the Baltimore Orioles, and the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.