Red Sox Named As Threat To Sign Away $97 Million Superstar From AL East Rival

The Red Sox certainly know what this slugger can do from experience...

Sep 24, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; Baltimore Orioles right fielder Anthony Santander (25) hits a solo home run during the sixth inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

How will the Boston Red Sox look to improve their offense in 2025?

For the most part, the Red Sox were a solid-hitting team this past season. But they had some obvious flaws--strikeouts and an inability to hit lefties come to mind--and that certainly contributed to their ultimate demise.

If the Red Sox are looking for anything on offense, it's power. Right-handed hitting power is likely preferred, but anything that can help them put more balls out of the yard will be crucial, given that they were much more of a doubles team than a home runs team in 2024.

And if the Red Sox are going to add a power bat, perhaps there is no better way to do so than to steal one from a fellow American League East competitor.

Chris Cotillo of MassLive named Baltimore Orioles slugger Anthony Santander as a fit for the Red Sox in free agency. Cotillo said that if designated hitter Masataka Yoshida is traded and outfielder Tyler O'Neill goes elsewhere, Santander could be the perfect fit to add some thump to the Boston lineup.

"A Yoshida trade would seem to vastly increase the chances that O’Neill comes back — though the Sox might be rushed into a type of decision with him with the deadline to make the $21.2 million qualifying offer due shortly after the World Series — or that... a switch-hitter like... Anthony Santander) takes his spot," Cotillo said.

Santander, 29, has been a steady hitter for a while, but truly broke out in 2024. His 44 home runs were 11 more than he had in any other season of his career, while his .814 OPS was the best of any season he has had apart from the shortened 2020 campaign.

While Santander's 2024 splits were slightly better from the left side of the plate than the right side (.822 OPS vs. .793), one has to assume his home ballpark played a role in that. Camden Yards has become the toughest park in baseball to hit home runs as a righty, while Fenway Park is, of course, one of the easiest.

The Red Sox have talked for a while now about "getting greedy," not just being satisfied with a playoff spot but trying to reestablish themselves as AL East powers. What better way to do that than to poach one of their chief rivals' best players?

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