Pitchers and catchers are slated to report for Spring Training next week — the Los Angeles Angels do so on Feb. 12 — meaning that the offseason is largely done in Major League Baseball. However, there are still some free agent dominos left to fall. One of those dominos was outfielder Anthony Santander.
Santander was one of three major bats that remained unsigned heading into February, alongside Alex Bregman and Pete Alonso. The latter two have still not agreed to a deal anywhere, but Santander signed a five-year, $92.5 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. The 30-year-old netted himself some long-term security with deferred money while the Blue Jays land one of the top bats on the market after losing out on several major free agents.
But before Santander and the Blue Jays agreed to terms on this deal, rumors state that the Angels were in discussions with him on shorter-term deals, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic:
The Los Angeles Angels also made a run at Santander, proposing three- and four-year concepts, according to sources briefed on the discussions.
Santander instead opted for a five-year, $92.5 million contract with the Blue Jays, two-thirds of which was deferred. The deferrals lowered his present-day value to about $71.5 million for luxury-tax purposes and $68.6 million according to the union, which uses a different discount rate. Santander would have at least approached those numbers with the Royals or Angels. But his total payout would have been lower.
It’s possible that Santander wanted the security of a five-year contract, plus the fact that his total payout seems to be higher with the deferrals that Toronto offered. It’s also possible that the Angels could have matched what Toronto offered, but clearly they felt that committing to Santander for five years was a line they didn’t want to cross.
What this does mean, though, is that the Angels may still be looking at upgrades.
The Angels’ pursuit of Santander is the latest indication of the team continuing to explore upgrades. The addition of a free-agent closer such as Kenley Jansen or Kyle Finnegan is one possibility. But the Angels might prefer to simply go with Ben Joyce, 24, and sign a veteran setup man such as Andrew Chafin or Phil Maton instead.
It has been known for weeks now that the Angels are going to make additions to their bullpen. It’s just a matter of which reliever and when. But this report shows that is absolutely still the plan, and if L.A. can land another bat in the process, that might be worthwhile for Arte Moreno and company.
Angels projected to finish fourth in AL West
PECOTA standings projections by Baseball Prospectus have the Angels finishing in fourth in the American League West. They have the Angels finishing with a 75-87 record, which would mean the 10th consecutive losing season and 11th consecutive season missing the playoffs, both of which would be the longest active streaks in MLB.
