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Anthony Santander has been consistently good for the Baltimore Orioles during their hot season. As they prepare for the series opener against the Houston Astros on Thursday, the Orioles are 74-54, only half a game behind the New York Yankees (74-53), for the AL East Division pennant.
Santander will enter his first free agency if the O’s don’t offer him a convincing extension by the end of this season.
The Athletic's Jim Bowden called Santander the "best corner outfielder in this class," ranking him seventh in his top 50 potential free agents. Bowden called the outfielder an Orioles "stalwart," while saying "Anthony Santander is the most underrated free agent in this class."
The Venezuelan outfielder was invited to his first All-Star event this year. He already has career-high home runs (37) this season while aiming to set new highs in RBIs and runs by the end of the season. He has a stat line of .237/.304/.523 with an OPS of .827, scoring 82 RBIs, 75 runs and 37 home runs in 122 games.
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So, now the question remains: what will be his worth if he chooses free agency?
Anthony Santander's free agency contract prediction
With a career batting average of over .300 and 80-plus RBIs over the last three seasons, Anthony Santander is one of the highly demanded power hitters available for all 30 MLB teams next year.
Regarding his contract prediction, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN put him on the Tier-4 list in the power hitters category, which ranges between $40 million and $80 million. However, Santander has a different view on his free agency take. Despite his increasing demand, he wants to play for the O’s for a long period.
“I would like to stay here for the rest of my career, but it's out of my hands,” Santander said, via Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun.
How Anthony Santander’s future will be shaped heavily depends on his performance in leading the Orioles to the grand stage of the World Series, which they’ve been hunting since 1984.
