The Waiting Game: Orioles’ Slugger Future on Hold Until Juan Soto Makes His Move

The Baltimore Orioles are in a tough position regarding the free agency decisions of Anthony Santander and Corbin Burnes.

Burnes shouldn’t be impacted much by Juan Soto’s decision, but many contending teams are in the mix for his services, giving the Orioles stiff competition.

Regarding Santander, his market will be drastically different depending on what Soto decides to do. The longer Soto takes in his decision, the longer Santander will have to wait to make his.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, his free agency is currently “on hold” while Soto looks for his next home.

“Anthony Santander and Teoscar Hernández, ranked ninth and 11th on The Athletic’s Top 40 Free Agent Big Board, currently are on hold while the Soto negotiations continue,” Rosenthal wrote.

Santander’s free agency market taking a hit until Soto makes a decision doesn’t come as a surprise, as many of the ball clubs interested in the left-handed hitting slugger are expected to turn their interest to the switch-hitting outfielder if he doesn’t pick their team.

Baltimore or another club might be able to sign Santander now at above market price, but there wouldn’t be much of a reason to do that until Soto makes hid decision.

The Orioles star is coming off the best campaign in his career, and while his defensive struggles could be a concern, Rosenthal added that teams are expected to overlook them.

“Santander, 30, is a switch-hitter coming off a career-high 44 home runs, and two years younger than Hernández.”

Players get paid to hit home runs and get on base at a high level. In each season, Santander has improved those numbers more and more, a good indication that his offensive production will continue to play at the level it needs to. Rosenthal pointed out that teams will probably overlook Santander’s lesser production against right-handed pitching in a scenario where they need that power bat.

If Santander doesn’t return to Baltimore, which seems likely as of now, either New York team makes sense. According to Rosenthal, the Toronto Blue Jays are a real threat to poach him.