Insider Says Baltimore Orioles Star Slugger Has Huge Market in MLB Free Agency

The Baltimore Orioles will have a lot of competition if they want to keep their star slugger.

Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles enter the offseason with two of the biggest free agents on the market, a reality that is a double edged sword.

Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander are each going to be some of the most sought after players by other teams, meaning that if Baltimore wants to retain their services, they had better be prepared to pay up. In all likelihood, they will not keep both. If it comes down to one or the other, it wouldn't be much of a surprise to see them choose the ace pitcher vs. the slugging power hitter as Burnes would frankly be harder to replace than Santander.

Nonetheless, it sounds like the outfielder has a very healthy market and will have a great chance to land a healthy payday as he prepares to start fielding offers from power hitting needy teams. Jon Heyman of the New York Post ranked Santander as a top-ten available free agent and predicted him to receive a deal worth $100 million over five years.

"He has big power and is a great clubhouse guy. Eight teams are already in, including many that are shooting first for Soto," Heyman wrote.

Seeing teams earmark Santander as their backup plan for the big prize in Juan Soto is certainly not a surprise. In a contract year, the slugger hit 44 home runs with 102 RBIs an OPS of .814, all career highs. Adding home runs to the lineup is the priority of every team in today's day and age, and Santander does exactly that.

While 2024 in particular was spectacular, Santander has been on a run of power hitting over the last three seasons that not many in the league would be able to match. Since 2022, he has mashed 105 home runs and 286 RBIs along with being a reliably solid batting average guy. Of course, there is the chance that 2024 was his peak with a slugging percentage over .500, but it seems like teams are going to be willing to take that chance.

If Baltimore wants to keep Santander, they better be prepared to open up the checkbook and pay him what other teams are willing to offer. With likely one real chance to cash in, it doesn't seem like a hometown discount will be in the cards here even though to this point Santander has spent his entire career with the Orioles.

Such is the nature of the business side of baseball.