The Blue Jays’ interest in Anthony Santander is well-known, with Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press even listing the Jays and Angels “as the frontrunners” to sign the All-Star outfielder in a report last week. Toronto has formalized its pursuit of Santander by making an official contract offer, according to KPRC’s Ari Alexander, though the size and length of the offer isn’t known.
MLB Trade Rumors ranked Santander ninth on our list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents, and projected the longtime Orioles outfielder for a four-year, $80MM deal. Santander and his reps at the Beverly Hills Sports Council have been looking to top that number, as Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported last month that Santander is looking for a five-year contract worth at least $100MM.
Given how many other notable free agents have landed bigger deals than expected this winter, it isn’t surprising that Santander is aiming high, and he might have some leverage since so many other big bats have already signed elsewhere. Beyond the Blue Jays and Angels, the Tigers, Red Sox, and Yankees have also been publicly linked to Santander, and it is possible another club or two might be lurking to see how his market develops.
One team that doesn’t appear to be in the running for Santander is Houston, as Alexander notes that the Astros are “very unlikely” to dole out the type of contract that would basically ensure that the team stays over the luxury tax threshold. RosterResource’s current estimate of a $244MM tax number for the Astros already puts them over the $241MM threshold, and there has been speculation that Houston might look to move a contract in order to duck under the line and reset its tax status. Because the Astros were tax payors in 2024, they also have to give up two 2025 draft picks and $1MM in international bonus pool money for signing any free agent that rejects a qualifying offer, and Houston already paid those extra penalties to sign Christian Walker.
Adding a powerful switch-hitter like Santander would cover multiple needs for the Jays, whose largely right-handed hitting lineup finished 26th in the majors last year in home runs. Putting Santander behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (who contributed 30 of the Jays’ 156 homers in 2024) in the lineup would give Guerrero some valuable protection, and there’s a ready-made defensive position for Santander in left field. Since the Blue Jays don’t have a set designated hitter, Santander could get a good chunk of at-bats from the DH spot, which also works since Santander’s outfield defense is average at best.
It has been a pretty quiet offseason for the Blue Jays, though not for lack of effort, as the team has been linked to almost every major free agent on the market. Toronto made aggressive bids for both the top hitter (Juan Soto) and pitcher (Corbin Burnes) available, and reports indicated that the Jays may have outbid the Diamondbacks’ $210MM contract with Burnes, but the right-hander took less money in order to pitch closer to his home in Arizona. For all of the Jays’ free agent dealings, their only noteworthy deal has been a two-year pact with old friend Yimi Garcia. Toronto’s other big offseason move to date was a trade with the Guardians that brought second baseman Andres Gimenez and reliever Nick Sandlin into the fold, but Gimenez’s subpar hitting numbers over the last two seasons offers no promise that he’ll help the Blue Jays’ lackluster offense.
Signing Santander would at least quiet the narrative that the Jays are unable to land top free agents, even if the heat on GM Ross Atkins and team president Mark Shapiro won’t really let up unless the Blue Jays turn things around on the field in 2025. Arguably no team in baseball faces as much short-term pressure as the Jays, since Guerrero and Bo Bichette are both free agents next winter and there isn’t any indication that the club is making any headway in extension talks. Bringing in Santander on a long-term deal could be viewed as a move to lock a big bat into the lineup even if Guerrero does leave, similar to how the Gimenez trade could be interpreted as a move to shore up the shortstop position if Bichette departs.
Water is wet and the Blue Jays have offered a free agent a contract
High taxes, going through customs every week. Is it all worth it?
Do you honestly think the players spend any time at customs?
They depart/arrive via chartered flights. They literally breeze through customs,
Customs in today’s world can be an issue even for the privileged. Visitors like relatives and friends also don’t get the same benefits. It’s not the worst but it is a negative for some to consider (living in CA is obviously also a big positive for others but it it were for Santander, he likely would have already signed).
Soon, it will become even harder to enter Canada. Sniffer dogs, drones and cavity checks will become normal after the long (hours long) lineups, all due to a request to help keep the fentanyl and handguns from coming in from the south.
living in California is a big plus ??? well, the weather can be really nice but ….can’t think of much else.
Big ole border, enter if you dare.
This is not the forum for this take your trash to a news site
It would make it easier to move to Florida….30million new residents of Tampa…..
@Ashley – As I am sure that you are aware, when you describe their cult leader in real world terms, the cultists react with foaming at the mouth, gnashing of teeth, lots of pathetic slogans and insults galore. In essence, they mimic their own dear leader.
Please don’t ask them to read, to understand, or to actually attempt to answer any questions with well-considered facts and perspective as they are incapable of doing anything but repeating the same, sad, monosyllabic droolings and mutterings of their echo-chambered social media sources.
Canadians, if you’re accurate, obviously can’t tell the difference between an orderly protest seeded with gov.t agitators vs the ongoing attacks on American and Canadian democracy due to ongoing conflict in the Middle East. But I know you’re not accurate, because I live in Canada, regularly travel widely in the US (both by air and road) and actually follow both the sketchy MSM and news from multiple other sources. But live in your sheltered view world and pollute a great sports site with foolish political takes (I’m listening to myself and ceasing and desisting, journalist out). I’ll stick to baseball elsewhere in this forum (the best in all of sports by my reckoning).
I hope this was sarcasm?
Worst post in MLBTR histroy.
Too bad the clowns on the left got smoked in the U.S. election lol
@westcasey
Try stepping out of your reality distortion zone and you’ll find thinking becomes much easier.
Good to hear. Canada as a 51st state is a non-starter for every American. Let Pierre have a shot. If he can’t reset, we’ll watch the value added provinces of Manitoba, Sashkachiwan and Alberta split off (Quebec might work) and we might have a win win.
LeylandsLung…y’all have to be careful what ya wish for.
I’d be happy to give out bus tickets at the local homeless encampment for them to move to warmer climates. I’m sure there are millions that would also move south to get out of the cold. Just sayin’…we have warts here too.
Obviously my CA reference was CANADA.
It is really wild that legitimate issues are so arrogantly swept aside by many on here, we could talk for hours about the radical policies of Canada and the American left and their negative impacts but let’s stick to ball.
The Jays will always have trouble attracting free agents, it is a tough sell across borders.
they’re the world’s 4th largest economy.
Florida is a dumpster fire, insurance rates are sky high with many companies leaving
if by smoked you mean the difference of 1%
Consistent hurricanes will do that.
@pat12992 – The left, the right and the center have many issues and we could talk about them for days. There are legitimate concerns for sure about liberal policies, just as there are legitimate concerns about policy standards from the right as well. These things are complex, after all.
None of them are solved by what is occurring right now with the re-elected thuggish chucklehead however. Nor his ignorant minions. At some point, I hope that we can all get back to the routine concerns of actual governance, policy and politics, rather than the current fubar autocracy in waiting.
@mcmannes,
Ridiculous post, And you painted a rather unflattering picture of yourself.
Please. Playing in Canada has next to nothing to do with the lack of interest from star free agents. It’s irrelevant when you have an organization that’s set up to win. The Toronto Blue Jays are absolutely not in that category. From the big league roster down through the farm system, the Jays are in trouble. Why would anyone who wants to win sign with this team right now? Fire Atkins, sign Guerrero long term, start the rebuild.
Stfu
Dumber than dumb.
Leave it to a woman to get hysterical about baseball and rant. Lots of likes indicates the masses are iykyk
Quit hiding under the covers Justin, Pierre is the only thing stopping 60% of Canadians from voting Trump
Kings Canyon
Income taxes are ridiculous in CA. Not to mention the cost of living is totally out of control. Avg tax rate 30%. Marginal rate as much as 46.5% on these types of multi million dollar salaries. Screw that. You can have it.
Canadians are sick and tired of Lil Castro and his Communist regime.
@14thor – We already knew that there are a ton of morons out there. The fact that you are proud of that is telling,
Tomorrow is the anniversary of a bloody coup attempt by a number of those morons, and you are probably proud of that fact. The fact that you imbeciles call yourselves patriots is as sad as it gets.
HAHAHA….it looks like you’ve been well informed by the MSM…Keep living in your fantasy world. ..WE’RE SOOO BAAACK BABY!!!!!
You are checking my comments..I wonder if you checked the one that I reply to…
You mean Barron’s bio dad?
You’re a clown if you think that the “insurrection” made a bit of difference in the recent election…obviously it did not, otherwise Trump would not have won the popular vote lol
Getting mad that someone you perceive to be female is commenting is pretty gay, why not argue with her points instead of assuming this weird blue haired kinky image of her? Oh because you can’t defend an insurrection. Trump is so incompetent he let the minority party steal an election under him or he lost and in both worlds you’re supporting a moron. But yeah personally attack the person you cant see on the internet about their looks like a genius. So stupid, just so dumb, you would toss trumps salad so hard
US-AGENCY 4 INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT….I THOUGHT IT STOOD FOR HELPING UNDERDEVELOPED NATIONS ON CLEAN WATER OR NATURAL DISASTERS RELIEF. BUT NOOO!!BEWARE BIG BALLS IS COMING AFTER YOUR LIB & GLOBALIST FRIENDS. GRANDES PELOTAS NENA!!!!
@letitbelowenstein
You honestly believe that people of note go through customs like the rest of us?
Deep thought. Thanks for charing.
@letit
Ppl traveling on private keys don’t go thru the same price
@letit
Ppl traveling on private planes don’t go thru the same process as we do. Instead of going thru the general customs, they go to a different section with private customs for celebrities and wealthy ppl. The teams also hires an expedited service that handled a lot as soon as the plane lands. They breeze thru customs.
Less than astute to think that Canadian taxes play any kind of factor when attracting star players to work here. If the organization is built to win 9.5 times out of 10 professional athletes line up to be a candidate for the job. If the organization has holes in it and is destined for mediocrity at best, well, then you can add anything to the list of why the destination is one to avoid.
Water is not wet, but I agree with the rest of the sentence…
Sad resolution incoming.
I don’t blame Atkins a ton for this. Canada’s economy is in the toilet right now and their Prime Minister might be out of office soon. Not a very stable situation
That’s why Sandy’s agent leaked this story – he’s saying please someone come offer a deal worth taking so my client doesn’t have to go to Toronto !
I guess the country should just shut down…everyone jump on an ice floe, pay the 120% taxes, eat some poutine and wait for better days when the government is solid like the one in the US…..
Cmon…stop with the uneducated Fox based BS.
Why is it always something about Fox? It shows your bias more then anyone else’s.
Nailed it @metsin4 lol….it’s literally the only thing they can say, Fox News this or that blah blah blah
@BravesHomer and others:
A) Who is “they”
B) What are your top five news sources?
well FOX news is the only news outlet having to payout close to billion dollar lawsuits for blatantly lying to its viewers
@TMQ didn’t George Steph and ABC just settle 2 weeks ago on a defamation lawsuit regarding Trump? Funny you didn’t mentioned that
@CarverAndrews…”They” is liberals who can’t acknowledge all the news outlets are in lock step with their reporting. ABC, NBC, CNN, etc. and only say ‘but Fox News this or that’….What do i follow? No matter what I say won’t be correct for you and will only be labeled misinformation but I’ll bite anyways..I mostly listen to Conservative News Talk Radio and Podcasts that’s it, plus some MSNBC and CNN just for the pure entertainment of their derangement. How about you?
@braveshomer – A few of my top sources include the Wall Street Journal; BBC; NPR; Guardian; NYT; WaPo; Propublica; Vox and so on. And yes, your answer to the same was as expected.
The worst part is many of you actually know, deep down, that the garbage “news” that you listen to is exactly that but for some twisted reason it still feeds your need to feel better about yourselves.
@Carverandrews you lost all credibility citing the pro-hamas WaPo lol. WS journal is the only decent one you mentioned. In your heart of hearts do you truly believe those aren’t far left leaning outlets these days? It’s fine if you do just have your head buried in the sand. Biggest difference is I know I’m following right leaning news as they present themselves that way, legacy media still tries to present themselves as the gate keepers of truth which no one believes anymore. You follow whatever you want it doesn’t bother me, I’m all for freedom of the press if you wanna follow those sites. The left would love to silence the right at any given moment is another big difference as well.
The saddest part is y’all knuckleheads believe your own nonsense.
Is there anything I said that’s incorrect?
Virtually everything, other than the WSJ is credible. You live in a bubble of misinformation.
This is a discussion that is outside of your ability to comprehend, unfortunately. In brief, there are two primary factors – bias (which you refer to) and credibility (which you don’t grasp).
What the alt-right calls the legacy media when they are not calling it something else, has always had something of a liberal bias. The basic reason for that is that when one has a greater degree of education, one tends to be more liberal via the percentages.
Every journal, publication and news source has an element of bias. The NYT is left of center; WSJ right of center; BBC and NPR tend to the mean; Fox trends further right; One America far right along with Breitbart and so on.
The biggest concern at this juncture is credibility however and the conservative echo chamber is falling to astonishingly low levels, resorting to consistent outright obfuscation and simply making stuff up to feed their base.
There used to be a very valid concern that the liberal bias in the media was the area of concern. And, of course, it is still a valid concern in certain arenas. But it pales in comparison to the gross negligence of the conservative media machinery and social media idiocy.
Folks are stupid, and tend to believe what they want to hear. Journalism is in trouble due to the monetization issues that have occurred as a result of the internet as the primary means of distributing information. Your own utter lack of being able to comprehend the underlying realities of these concerns merely outlines how much trouble we are in when it is no longer a matter of perspective on a set of facts, but that the facts themselves are nothing but fluid in context.
Well – one of us is leaking from the ears, anyway. Oh, and FYI – I was a Rockefeller style Republican for most of my life. Grew up in a GOP-oriented household, and was never dogmatic when it came to either side. Business owner for decades. As long as there was relative sanity, a lack of culture warring and relative fiscal conservatism I was OK with things.
There are still plenty of old school conservatives with intellects, ethical standards and credibility that are worthy of admiration. I don’t always agree with anyone but certainly a George Will, a William F. Buckley Jr., a Charles Krauthammer and so on are / were brilliant and engaging minds.
Today – the dreck that remains in thrall to this piece of garbage…well, it simply is not possible to respect anyone that is a part of this nonsense. And yes – in the overall sense it is clear…they appeal to those that are less educated as their base. However it is also true that a shocking % of those that should either know better or have some sense of ethical constraints are also on the bandwagon. It will really be quite the comeuppance for the magatville idiots when they finally realize that their cult leader is only in it for his own ends and that he loathes y’all for buying into his long con.
It is no longer worth engaging in this any further
Again with the name calling. I’m 100% ok with you never agreeing in my beliefs, but you, however, can’t do the same correct? Just accept different thinking does exist. Have a good night!
@bestone Nobody watches Fox News. It’s just as bad as any other MSM. So, you should educate yourself before you call others uneducated.
I’ve tuned in to many of the US main stream media news channels over the years. They all weave their stories to pay the bills. Unfortunately, you would have to watch NHK or DW to get as unbiased viewpoint as possible.
You can’t say nobody watches Fox News…they are still in business and making profits…
Can we get back to baseball talk?
“@Low IQ”
Name checks out
You’re a dumba$$ by assuming what I watch and what my world view is simply because I pointed out that Fox News isn’t where most people get their information.
Not sure where you live but I live in Canada. The situation with the government here is not great. Do a little actual research before spouting off your ignorance.
MotownWings13….
There are frequent votes of non confidence in ottawa.
Likewise, the political party in power cycles between the two main parties…it’s unusual that one party has stayed in place for as long as long as it did. This past term, the ndp was propping up the liberals. It was a typical minority government session.
As usual, the opposition party attacks when the governing party is low in public favour.
Things are not as bad as the news from the south is promoting.
Sorry. No ignorance here.
Very much incorrect as the government did not act as a usual minority government. The Liberals and ndp formed an unelected coalition.
Also the leader of the ndp (Jagmeet Singh) says Trudeau needs to be turfed yet he votes in favour of him during those non confidence votes. Why might you ask. Well because Singh’s full pension vests on February 25. He is also projected to lose his seat. Therefore he won’t be voting non confidence until that full pension vests. One guy who has a net worth of $78MM holding the rest of Canada hostage.
How about discussing all of the Liberal scandals while they’ve been in office over the last 9 years. WE charity, EA act being used unconstitutionally, vaccine mandates, Arrivescam and that’s just naming a few.
Also the government can’t pass anything new legislation right now as the Liberals have refused to turn over documents regarding a $400 million green slush fund. Hmmm I wonder why.
So yes you are very ignorant and you should just keep quiet about the subject.
I’ve never met a politician that didn’t have a hidden agenda. Rare are the servants that have the fiscal responsibility of a saint.
There will always be corruption and mishandling of taxpayers money.
The difficulty is choosing who won’t sell us out for a bag of magic beans.
Liberal apologist garbage. Compare the Harper led government to the Trudeau led government and let me know who left Canada in a better financial situation.
All of what you said about Canada is opinion, and really has no effect o the baseball team, or its players. The US replaces its leader more regularly than Canada. And according to Trump, and those that voted for him, the US economy is in the toilet as well. How’s that for stable?
The economy’s fine, Prime Ministers come and go. This is just ridiculous talk.. Canada’s not some backwater, fledgling democracy.
Still one of the world’s largest economies. Every country in history goes through GDP growth and slow-down cycles.
100% it’s fine but that’s the point. It’s not the US and most players would prefer to stay in the US. It will always be harder to recruit players there.
“The People’s Republic of Soviet Canuckistan”
I like Canada but was still a great line.
CAD is currently 0.69 cents to the USD. This screams ‘fine.’
All the hockey players would rather play in the U.S. tells you all you need to know about Canada!
Un huh, now repeat after me. I pledge allegiance to the flag to the… Ahahahahaha!
Because they get paid in American Money not Canadien it actually befits the players the American dollar is so much more then canadien money surely would make up the difference in taxable income
Dont ruin a baseball chat with your political views
I agree.
However….whenever Toronto is discussed, there’s always the gum flapping over high taxes and other biased opinions. Seems many people think Canada’s for sale with jokes about being the 51 state.
For some reason the on line community of trolls hiding behind keyboards like to pile on when given a chance.
The jays have the same problem that many other teams have: and that is a front office that seems disconnected, and should have been replaced a couple of years ago.
Let’s try to keep this a baseball discussion.
Canada’s economy remains one of the strongest coming out of the pandemic – back to baseball, it’s on Jays mgmt for not building a system that attracts and acquires talent. The Giménez deal is underwhelming but was a positive step, given that the Rogers Centre can make a mediocre bat look potent…
I agree.
All MLB salaries are paid in American $$. All teams except the Blue Jays make all their income in American $$. So, except for the Blue Jays, a $ is a $. As recently as 15 years ago the value of the CDN $ was equal or slightly above the US greenback. Today, it costs about $1.40 CDN (it fluctuates but has been dropping ) to buy one $ US dollar.
This has several implications:
— the Blue Jays have to buy American cash to pay their players and run their year-round development complex in Florida and the cost of that keeps going up (even though they have always held American $$ accounts and invested in appropriate US securities to buffer fluctuations as much as possible)
— they are owned by a public corporation, Rogers, so due diligence applies in spending (although rumours persist that within months or weeks when the transaction closes to buy the just under-40% of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment held by its partner, the whole kit and caboodle may be purchased from Rogers by Ed Rogers their main owner (and Chair). Rogers owns the Blue Jays and their stadium etc. at 100% and MLSE owns NHL Leafs, NBA Raptors, CFL Argonauts — oldest professional sports team in North America with same name, having operated since 1873 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Argonauts –, plus MLS Soccer’s Toronto FC, hockey team Toronto Marlies, various rinks, etc. So within weeks the Blue Jays may be part of an even bigger sports behemoth, owning/controlling all major league sports in Toronto, plus the local and national cable and broadcast rights to NHL, MLB, etc. This will give the whole enterprise more financial flexibility
— the headlines may be affecting agents’ and their clients’ perception of the country’s stability but it’s irrelevant to players paid in relatively stable US $ and a new govt will remedy that quickly (current govt has 16% support, an historic low for the Governing Party) and underlying strengths of Canadian economy are undeniable, as a resource-rich G7 country. Geographically, Toronto is neither the farthest North nor the farthest from other MLB teams, so travel isn’t a negative issue,
— some fans are very outspoken and condemn the FO every hour the team is not in first place with a multi-game lead and also leading every offensive category (think of the fevered banter in the households between Boston and Greater New York) — and every off-season it doesn’t sign the top 5 FAs — Greater Toronto area is North America’s third largest in population behind only New York and LA so has lots of baseball fans
— this FO has tiptoed with its recent spending to stay out of tax jail, but once the ownership issue (see above) is clarified the team may be ready to open the purse strings fully wide (as they showed they would/could by their solid bids for both Ohtani and Soto)
— who has greatest risk right now? The Blue Jays — only game in town with 40,000+ summer seats for guaranteed fair weather recreational observing — or Vlad Guerrero for whom an injury or wonky walk-season numbers would seriously reduce value? so the incentive for Vlad will be to sign, unless he believes he’s superman (not uncommon in 26 yr old males and athletes in particular) and the objective reality is the team can afford him — they’ll make a baseball decision and he’ll make a lifetime decision
— the Blue Jays will sign some free agents and likely make some trades to alleviate financial risk of others, as they did in snatching Gimenez from Cleveland — but loud fans of course say everything good should have happened months and seasons ago…
And that’s why MLB Trade Rumours must be maxing out traffic right now. Thanks for all the work you do. Happy New Baseball Year!
Advertising revenue from Sportsnet could pay for most salaries
Dumb
What’s it going to take to get the relief market going?
February
Or a mysterious, rash malady of arms mistakenly falling off. February sounds more realistic though!
Very likely with money.
Usually when you hear an offer has been made but nobody has been signed it doesn’t happen.
He’s not a fit for Detroit, and he won’t move the needle in Anaheim. Toronto is a great fit for Santander. They need LH power, and will let him play OF. They might even be motivated to pay more.
And what does any of that have to do with what I said?
Jays may make another offer but it’s not likely the one they made will sign him.
Your response was fairly generic and without cited evidence I’m reluctant to agree. Sorry, but It was in the manner of “the weather could be better”…
So sad O’s didn’t keep him.
They have too many prospects. And Santander put up his best numbers in his walk year. Makes you think.
It isn’t their prospects. They signed another starting outfielder.
From a fan perspective, I’m definitely sad to see Santander go, but I prefer O’Neill to him when considering likely future production and what we actually needed, which is someone to absolutely bludgeon lefties.
Plus the extra draft pick is nice.
So you’re telling me the Jays are interested…
I’m waiting foe Boston is interested. I have that on my bingo card.
I don’t think Boston is a true player for Santander. They may have been for Teoscar but he’s off the table. They say they are in the market for a right handed bat, but they have in-house OF prospects that are much cheaper with higher ceiling that will soon require more dedicated playing time. Its not what the fans want to hear so they keep pretending to be scouring the market….
Taylor Ward to Boston makes a ton of sense. Ward hits right handed and has 2 years of club control remaining. Just enough to help now and be out of the way once the prospects are fully ready.
But alas we won’t do a full rebuild.
“We tried” “We were in it till the end” “The price tag went above our comfort level” “The price exceeded our valuations” (that’s anonymous quote)
Those are the built in excuses the Jays use for not getting anything done, but hey they “tried”
I don’t think anyone (outside of Rogers management apparently) has any confidence in this front office to get Vlad Jr signed, or to get the Jays to legit world series contender, heck it’s been almost 10 years and the farm system still sucks smh. Yeah they can make all the offers they want, until someone says yes, that’s all they are offers.
So, if they have the highest offer, should they bid against themselves?
They should do what they can to get the player signed. That’s what the GM is there for to convince a player that Toronto is the correct place for them to play at for a few years and to get properly compensated for their commitment to the team.
Right now the management team has not been able to close a deal to get things done and a lot of Jays fans are getting restless and just straight up giving up on the team.
I think the bridge with Vlad and the Jays is burned. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Jays trade him at the deadline to get something in return as opposed to just letting him walk.
I suspect you’re correct. That being said…this looks like a fourth place club for many years. No one wants to sign for a team that could be a perennial basement dweller.
Obviously they can’t sign Vlad to a $450MM contract. It would cost way too much for the Jays given the current exchange rate which only seems to be widening. Isnt the exchange rate, which was like 1.55 in the early 2000s… isnt that what doomed Montreal?
If i go see a game in Toronto for $100 CAD, three years ago that was 78 USD of purchasing power for the Jays. Now in 2025 its under $70 USD and continuing to fall. Multiply that by 30,000 fans x 81 games, and the currency conversion hurts the Jays balance sheet and what they can do with free agents
I no longer keep up with exchange rates, but under $70 is socking. Someone told me that a red pepper in Halifax is like C$10. That sounded unbelievable.
Not sure how they stay out of 5th for a while. Maybe they finish ahead of the wandering Rays in 2025, but after that? Pretty dim future in TOR. Even the starters will be disappearing soon.
Yes, we all have nervous stomaches, most fans for every team. Baseball is all about nervous twitches and players exceeding or not the expectations we the fans place on them. The games have to be played. The FO (except for the Mets, apparently) has to make hard valuations before committing $$. Agents are the middlemen, to buffer players from emotional “sign now or else” appeals. You’re on a Rumours site (among very best in baseball or any sport in my opinion) so if you would prefer to hear about ongoing transactions only after signatures have dried, go elsewhere. Here, you’re hearing from the best in the business (core writers and stringers). Don’t complain when every rumour doesn’t have a happy ending for you. At midnight, some delightful rumours turn into pumpkins.
We Tried Meter is about to break it’s needle.
No doubt the ever-beige Blue Jays front office will stick to its walkaway limit, and Santander will sign elsewhere. Maybe Kevin Keirmaier can be lured out of retirement.
If they are so interested in players…it boggles my mind why they wouldn’t offer to pay the tax on their salary. It would equal the playing field with their American counterparts.
@Pete Cruise
I’m not going to tell you you’re wrong. Instead I’ll advise you to talk to a financial planner/internation account and they can tell you that you’re wrong.
So they couldn’t even come to a side contract? Show me in Canadian law where that is illegal.
No one said it was illegal and side contracts are unnecessary. Jays’ players get paid in U.S. dollars and pay both Canadian and U.S. taxes. Google the subject and there are multiple credible sources explaining this subject. Canadian players are not paying more taxes than U.S. players in high tax states.
Apparently, millionaires in the US don’t pay taxes….zero….nada….
You should be more concerned about that.
Please get an understanding of the tax agreements between US and Canada when it comes to this type of employment….
Whilst the sarcasm could be lost on me, the first half of your post is alarmingly wrong bestone.
100 % sarcasm.
All we hear about is Canadian taxes.
Perhaps the real reason players are not attracted to Toronto is a poor misguided front office with no plan, and seems to be missing “something”.
Teoscar’s most recent interview indicated his return to L.A. was not based on money….but the respect and treatment given to him and his family by the dodgers.
The top 1% in America pay 45.8% of the US personal income tax.
As opposed to making 99% of the income. Figures don’t lie but liars sure can figure.
26.3 percent in 2021.
Figures don’t lie but liars sure can figure.
On taxable income. The top earners pay NOTHING even close to 45% because of a tax code that is thousands of pages of goodies for high income individuals.
How do you know what they offer?
Ever read an MLB contract?
Players pay Canadian tax only for the pro-rated days they earn while in Canada. So for half the games and all of Spring Training they pay taxes in US. Also why MLB players tend not to live in Canada or a high-tax US state in the off-season (despite snow shovelling being part of every good exercise regimen).
Canadian taxes are not a huge barrier. The Blue Jays offer more $$ as compensation… Why would you think otherwise? The Jays’ FO isn’t run like The Office.
Hector Gomez literally reported the exact opposite. Saying Houston is very much involved & poses the biggest threat to the Blue Jays. I’ll take Hector’s reporting as he’s typically very tied into Latin American players over Ari Alexander’s.
At 4\20, I really hope you’re wrong…
Why do you hope I’m wrong? Are you a Jays fan? Don’t be mad at me…I’m just relaying Hector Gomez’s report. He’s @hgomez27 on Twitter if you want go see the tweet from a few days ago.
Yes, a very reasonable response. Don’t shoot the messenger. Leaks, of course, are often not value neutral — info is leaked for a reason and it’s rarely “let the public know”. You cited the source you were quoting. You did us a service, even if homeowner doesn’t want his garage to be on fire, he or she wants to know whether it’s on fire and what kind of fire. Same here.
We’re in a marketplace of baseball rumours and most of it goes back to somebody or somebodies making more or less $$. “follow the money” applies here, daily.
Tax rate is the same or lower than California and New York may be even lower. See Josh Donaldson’s win in tax court against Revenue Canada. Plus players only pay tax on the percentage of salary earned Canada….i.e 50% only home games.
Think of the players the Dodgers could sign if they weren’t all deterred by the high taxes of California!
Jesse Winker is not a bad fit for the Jays. A LH bat, tolerable D and cheap ($2-$3M)
He’s also from Buffalo, NY which isn’t too far away.
Agree, he’s a good fit. Given this bull FA market I think he could get maybe 7. He needs a RH caddy, orelvis crushed LH pitching
Wow a comment about baseball, thank you take my upvote.
The only thing noteworthy about this news is that Heyman or Passan isn’t the “source”. Maybe that means there is some truth to it?
Aside from that, these fumblings bring back memories of J.P.Ricciardi’s bumbling …and inspire just as much confidence!
You’ve just compared two polar opposite writers. Passan is at the top of the very few reputable ones.
Jeff Passan is the golden boy. Notice he is the first one usually to break any major signing. There is a hierarchy in baseball journalism and Passan & Rosenthal are at the very top. Guys like Heyman, Nightengale, and Morosi are further down the pecking order but they each have their own individual job to do. They will leak out certain tidbits of facts. It’s funny how the game works.
Funny enough that I used to not like Passan. He was a hack when he began his career when respected guys like Peter Gammons and Joe Poznanski were still around. What changed the tides for me in his favor was when Passan did an investigative piece on the ARod-Biogenesis scandal which was very well-written.
Santander is exactly the sort of player who deserves his full salary ask for 1-3 years OR would have solid appeal for a 3-5 year contract length if he left AAV money on the table in order to secure the bigger overall bag. The problem with MLB free agency right now is that everyone who isn’t clearly in decline opens and for an extended time seems to stick with both the full short-term-level AAV ask AND the full length. Then everything becomes an overall overpay or giving in to a “pillow” deal, with little in between.
Santander isn’t a high level player, and he isn’t necessarily a good extended time bet either. He should have to choose between betting on himself in return for maximizing his year to year earnings or play it safe with a very nice long term deal that acknowledges the risks put on teams with long-term deals.
Of course, the fault lies with MLB franchises for giving in to this behavior. Well, that and the segment of the media and fans that crucified teams (e.g. Boston) when they bow out of joining this wave of overpays…shame that every time a team shows any good sense in not crossing the overpay line they get immediately labeled “cheap”. It makes one wonder whether some of the negative reaction is the work of a calculated media campaign by agents. As i think about it as i type this, that now-standard response plays right into agent hands. Hmm.
What if the words “free agent” meant that the agent had to be free? Of course I’m kidding, but baseball has willingly set up a pyramid scheme that only benefits certain franchises. Gorge Steingrabber was the master criminal of this scheme but many others have followed suit. The agents are just doing their job. There’s no solution except for complete revenue sharing, but not in equal portions. Each team would receive a portion based on an equitable formula.
Couldn’t one say by definition, that by the time a player has reached free agency, that player will be in decline and his best years are behind him ? May not be the case for someone as young as Soto but it largely is true for every free agent 29-30 years old and later. So then why have the long term contracts at that point ? Free agency should be year to year once a player hits age 29 – 30. Earn your pay every year, every year a pillow contract “prove it” deal.
Toronto one of the greatest cities in North America.
*for high taxes, poutine, and unbearable winters.
Poutine is s french Cdn thing, not a hogtown thing
You absolutely don’t know what you are talking about.
Be honest, 10cent… better than Montreal? No wrong answers, just looking for an opinion based retort.
To me Toronto and Montreal are somewhat like Dallas and Houston. Big metropolitan areas heavily populated by people from “somewhere else”. Quebec is the city that has some unique character, kind of like San Antonio. Yes, I am intentionally comparing Canada with Texas, they’re both equally foreign to me, and yet I have close family relatives living in each place. So I visit but don’t stay terribly long. If you gave me a choice between Texas and Canada? I might not stop laughing, that choice is a no brainer, eh?
Do prefer Montreal – make the drive on an average once a year. To Tremblant as well for skiing But also very much love Toronto. For visual beauty, Vancouver may top everything on the continent. But I’ve gone off topic here…
Victoria, B.C. +1
Toronto is great if you wanna live in a city that feels like America outside America
Hah, that’s great. Even the lunatic drivers on the 401 are very much like LA drivers
Not from Canada, but: Quebec is incredible…charm, history and general area. Loved visiting Toronto – then again I like big cities and I enjoy the melting pot and city of neighborhoods feel. But if I were to live up there full-time, it would probably be Montreal.
Yes, Montreal is also one of greatest cities in North America, along with Vancouver. Many of the other greatest cities also have MLB teams. I won’t get into greatness comparatives but Toronto is definitely in top 10. Especially if minimum population requirement is 2 million plus.
Toronto and Montreal have been rivals since about 1800, when Toronto (then called York) started gaining population at a rate and before it was burned up by the US in War of 1812 (which is why White House was subsequently burned up). But Montreal is much older and was larger until mid-1970s when radical politics caused many to leave Montreal for points west, stalling its growth. F1 moved to Montreal from Ontario about that time; if Toronto area regains an F1 race (fingers crossed) that ledger will be evened.
I won’t mention the Expos, a beloved team across Canada.
Jays are so cheap they don’t even travel their announcers!
I’m sure he is on a plane to Toronto.
Hope springs eternal (and infernal).
Blue Jays may actually ask the girl out and she’ll say yes!
Meanwhile the Angels get catfished
@YankeesBleacherCreature
A while back the situation could be considered desperation, but now, it’s outright flailing.
Interesting. Does this indicate that the Jays are pivoting away from Bregman? That would seemingly leave only the Red Sox & Tigers as serious suitors for Bregman.
Don’t forget the Nationals.
If the Nationals move BACK to Montreal, will they be called the “Internationals”? Just wondering out loud.
I think not. From my reading and conversations they might wish to snag both but are weighing the coins involved… Others may be making same calculations. And a Burnes-like snap up could always happen out of the blue.
Ya same old stuff. They wish to snag everybody. By April the hot stove just cooks up a cold Kendrys Morales.
4/84m gets it done.
I think he signs today if you make it 5/$100M
6/$150 million should definitely get his attention.
I’m saying 5/100, which is an overpay but rightly or wrongly, jays have history of having to offer more yrs to sign guys. IE Martin and Springer
Good time for Scott Harris to knock another year off that offer to Boras…
Genuinely concerned for the Jays and their future. I don’t see how they continue to employ Shapiro and Atkins. I don’t know how much falls on Rodgers but if changes aren’t made, they could easily fit into the Rockies genre of terrible ownership groups.
This is shapiro’s last year of his contract.
Rogers now also own the leafs.
The leafs haven’t won a cup since 1967.
The leafs rake in the money.
If Roger’s is happy with the jays business performance,, Shapiro will have his contract renewed.
Time will tell.
Nah. They have more $$ than anyone could count. But they employ accountants and like everyone except the Mets have objective overlords. The tax barriers stop them from hurting their already-weak farm system with new restrictions. Gravity applies.
The Jays aren’t a Santander away from being a contender. Not sure what the point of this is unless they are also signing Bregman, Flaherty, etc. and extending Vladdy, all of which seem unlikely at this point.
Exactly, this is a final hail mary from Atkins to save his job but it will hurt the Jays long term.
This would be to show the fans and people that hey we are trying and actually doing something, cause let’s face it, this management team isn’t building a world series winner anytime soon. But Rogers doesn’t want to let them go so the people are stuck with them.
Right now fans are pretty much giving up on the Jays so they need to do something to show the fans and the current Jays players as well that hey we doing something to make the team better.
Yes but given Vlad and Bo are FA, there is no need to lock up an aging DH to a lot of money. The team will be bad with or without him or Bregman in 2025 and then you have multiple years of Giminez and Santander (or Bregman) at $20M+ but no Vlad/Bo or any core to speak of. They also have no farm. It doesnt make any sense except to maybe sell a few extra tickets in 2025, but you will lose those tickets sales in 2026 and beyond.
Well, it may be more fair to say that the Jays’ owners don’t want to pay the FO — Atkins and Shapiro, specifically — for contract years they don’t have to (plus severance), so may just be inclined to let both finish out their contracts.
I have said they might offer Anthopoulous 2% of team ownership to come home and take over (but even he is stymied in Atlanta these days with a “budget”)…
Good points, or point. But baseball still needs to be played and maybe some of their player valuations and strategic thoughts will pay dividends as young players reach for the stars (and stardom). I do like the wish list though, as someone who isn’t a Rogers shareholder (or employee, but who knew Ted Rogers 30 years ago — he still owed me a beer when he passed).
I’ll take “The Blue Jays are front runners,” for $600
Jays are done for a decade.
I absolutely love Santander but that contract is gonna go very bad very quick.
Seems like there are still a ton of really good players out there with spring training 5 weeks away
Reports are now saying 4 years for $82 million.
I made an offer to my teenage neighbor to mow my lawn.
Any opt-outs? Gas or electric, mower supplied by you or him/her? Insurance? Injury options? Training paid?
Only thing I insisted on was deferred payments until 2030.
That’s a huge overpay. Your days are numbered in this town given the Joneses hired a landscaper.
When news like this leaks I generally assume an agent put it out there hoping to spark offers from other teams.
No player looking for a long term deal will sign with the Jay’s it’s a mess right now. Bloated payroll horrible team and even worse management with no farm.
He’d be better off a Blue Jay. He’s a one trick pony that will put on a nice HR show with Vlad. In Detroit he’d be solely depended on hitting solo/2 run hrs. In Comerica. Not the same.
I don’t think the Tigers are serious about Santander; they’re just pretending to be in order to try to help negotiations w/Boras for Bregman. The Tigers would be more inclined to spend big $ to fill a position of need (3B) than one that is not (OF).
Yep, it’s 3D chess.
A huge sign that Akins & Shapiro are lame ducks, or should be. It’s been a long time since the Blue Jays had to beg & bribe semi-stars to come to their fair city — where your US coin gets you a 25% boost. This is the sign that the Vladdy era is not getting a curtain call, & the ownership’s decision to stick with these two numbskulls is going to set the whole franchise back.
Actually, the Blue Jays still have a number of once high-profile Free Agents on their roster, and have signed some FAs every year that Rogers has owned the team. And even before: Roger Clemens comes to mind.
dano62
where your US coin gets you a 25% boost.
=======================
It doesn’t really.
1-The prices are adjusted. If you are paying with Loonies, you are probably paying 25% more than you would pay in the US.
2-Most players probably don’t spend a fraction of what they get paid. So any hypothetical savings would only be on your spend.
Hope they can sign him. But he’s RF. George moving to LF?
Santander will sign with the Angels, better weather, more take home money, and better chance to win. The West is not the East!
I wouldn’t be afraid of 5/100 for a 30 yr old slugger. He could be a poor man’s Nelly Cruz.
enters thread
reads first 20 comments
runs from thread
Some people have things to do. But reading first 20 comments shows dedication to baseball, eh.
i love baseball
i don’t love politics
Guys, please keep this to baseball chatter. Politics is lame.
Like most fans when your team shows up on MLBTR you are more likely to read the comments. They always had their share of hate based solely on the Jays playing in a different country but since Trump started his ramblings a few weeks ago it’s really picked up steam. The irony being the folks doing it are the ones to despise the “sheep”, but by definition that is what they are.
IF they sign him they also need Bregman for 3rd, Flagerty for the 5th, Scott to close games plus another 2 BP arms, ideally another LH. Move Gimenez to SS, trade Bo, play Wagner/Clement on 2nd, trade Schneider (coach and player), sign a LF, move Springer to DH mainly, sign Vlad. Maybe then they’ll get a wild card spot.
So basically they won’t do any of this or close to it.
Right. In other words this iteration of the blue jays failed and it’s time to rebuild.
Ambitious. If they had more room under tax barrier they’d obviously be more active. If they can heavily defer contracts (for even 3 years) they can commit a lot. Rogers has a lot of sharp-pencilled bean counters, of course.
So I ask, if you were GM and did this what would you say to the bearers of pitchforks and torches this season and for the next 5 years if it doesn’t work (out of AL East basement and into World Series at least as an also-ran)?
He’s looking for a five-year deal, but honestly he’s not worth more than three. His slash line and defense aren’t pretty…
That’s what I’m saying bro! He won’t improve the Jays, and he’ll get more than he should.
The Jays are at the same point they were in 2017. The jays are trying to plug holes to bring back the window, but the window was 21-23. It’s done. They need to shed now to start any rebuild that won’t take 10 years. Not saying they shouldn’t wait for the deadline and try to get something better, but between now and then it’s gonna be completely turn down.
Every team sells the same story to fans about planning to build a perpetual contender but it always ends in a rebuild because that’s how the business functions
I somewhat agree. The window for winning is closed, but the window for making money off of Guerrero and Bichette isn’t. Most baseball team owners care more about bottom line than winning.
If Guerrero was traded to a big market franchise, can you imagine the jersey sales alone in 2025!
Toronto isn’t done milking him yet!
I miss the Montreal Expos
For those interested in the jays biz (many of u apparently) read the reports today that Rogers has lowered their revenue expectations for 24 due to “….. weaker performance in its media business during the final months of the year.” Jays are part of Rogers media.
Going forward, how valuable owning an mlb franchise is to RCI as the cable industry disintegrates……we shall see
A 2-3 win DH faking RF turning 30 wants $5/100m?
A 119 OPS+ over the last four years AND in 2023? He’s Pete Alonso with worse defense. And how about that .311 OBP over the past four seasons?
Hilarious.
Hilarity will turn to tragedy if someone gives it to him. Even the Blue Jays can’t be this desperate.
5 years and $100 million for a guy that belted 44 Home Runs last year isn’t really that bad. Honestly there is no reason the Sox shouldn’t be in that. Not sure how the Blue Jays can screw that up but i guess we’ll find out.
3/60 or look elsewhere. At this point the Jays should be selling off anyway. The AL is very weak and they are one of the weakest.
I think not wanting to sign with the Blue Jays is more about working and living part time in another country and all the legal, family and financial issues that come with that. It’s a hassle in so many ways, especially for players born in America accustomed to playing and living in America year round.
Blue jays want another Edwin or Joey Bats type
I’m guessing that if Santander was going to take the Blue Jays’ offer, they would have done it by now.
Is there no where to go anymore where people do not rant endlessly about politics , race or religion? It is insanity. GROW UP!
PLEASE keep this section about baseball .
I’m thinking Seattle for 4/96.
Toronto used to be cool when it was multicultural. Opening up the borders created an invasion from one specific country that ruined the identity of my home city.
Hey Mark Polishuk….it’s pretty crappy you selectively deleted my comment pointing out Liberals loss of sanity. But you leave up CarverAndrews responses calling Conservatives idiots and knuckleheads. Bias much? All you did was prove my point Liberals love to silence the right whenever given the slightest opportunity smh.