With just 19 days left until MLB teams begin spring training for the 2025 season, major free agents are gradually securing big contracts as the pressure mounts for players and teams to finalize deals.
The latest move occurred on Monday when outfielder Anthony Santander, who hit 44 home runs for the Baltimore Orioles in 2024, signed a five-year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays worth over $90 million, according to an ESPN report. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman later confirmed the contract’s full value at $92.5 million.
Although Santander had initially sought a contract worth at least $100 million, his deal, with an average annual value exceeding $18 million, is still impressive. The 28-year-old had been signed by the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians) in 2011 but struggled to break into their major league roster, eventually being left unprotected in the 2016 Rule 5 draft before the Orioles picked him up.
Santander’s new contract could complicate the Blue Jays’ pursuit of other top free agents, including Alex Bregman of the Houston Astros. The deal pushes the Blue Jays’ payroll over the $261 million threshold for MLB’s Competitive Balance Tax (CBT), triggering additional penalties. Their payroll now sits at $263 million, meaning they must pay a 30 percent surcharge for exceeding the first threshold and another 12 percent for surpassing the $261 million mark, amounting to at least $6 million in taxes for the first threshold and an additional $240,000 for Santander’s signing.
To add Bregman, the Blue Jays would likely need to surpass the third CBT threshold, leading to even higher tax payments. Meanwhile, the New York Yankees, with a 2025 payroll slightly above $273 million, could be in a position to sign Bregman for a sum under $8 million by structuring his deal with deferred payments. The Yankees’ interest in Bregman would likely depend on unloading part of Marcus Stroman’s $18 million salary through a trade.
The signing of Santander by the Blue Jays may shift the balance of free-agent negotiations, especially for the Yankees as they explore potential deals with Bregman.
