Baltimore Orioles Projected To Lose All-Star Slugger to Division Rival

The Baltimore Orioles could lose their slugger to a division rival this offseason in free agency.

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The Baltimore Orioles are going to have to make some tough choices this offseason when it comes to whether to make a real effort to keep their two star free agents, pursue only one, or let both walk.

Of course this conversation revolves around Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander, two players coming off All-Star campaigns and hitting the open market at a perfect time. While Burnes has been consistently spectacular over the better part of the last decade, Santander is coming off a career season in 2024 that saw him hit 44 home runs and 102 RBIs, both the highest marks he's ever had. Losing both feels more likely than keeping both, and if the team only makes a real effort to keep one, it will probably be Burnes.

All of this adds up to the inevitable likelihood Santander is playing somewhere else in 2025. If things do indeed play out that way, Baltimore would love it if he ended up far away and possibily in the National League. But Ryan Finkelstein of Just Baseball predicts the power-hitting outfielder to end up with the Toronto Blue Jays on a five-year, $110 million deal.

"Still only 30 years old, Santander can look for a deal that is at least five years long in free agency, but teams may be wary of committing that many years to him," Finkelstein wrote. "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."

As Finkelstein mentioned, the Blue Jays are seriously pursuing Juan Soto and almost certainly would not sign both, but the actual chances they end up with the services of the best hitter in baseball over some of the biggest market teams in the league feel slim to none at best. At that point, Santander would fill a need - albeit at a much lower ability than Soto - of a power hitting outfielder and likely be a thorn in the Orioles' side for years to come.

Baltimore can't afford to overpay just to keep Santander away from a divisional rival, but they can hope things go in a different direction if they choose not to keep him rather than him hitting home runs against them every time the two AL East foes play a series against each other.