After what has been a swing-and-miss off-season in terms of landing a bat to help their lagging offence, the Blue Jays finally connected.
Multiple reports on Monday have the team reaching agreement with outfielder Anthony Santander, a potentially dangerous weapon that immediately will improve a Jays offence coming off its lowest scoring output since 1997.
The deal has yet to be confirmed by the team, but it reportedly is a five-year deal worth $90 million.
A 30-year-old switcher hitter, Santander has battled inconsistencies at times in his career, but there’s no doubt he can mash for power. Last season with the Orioles, Santander belted 44 home runs and drove in 102 runs.
With that kind of output from Santander, the Jays immediately will have some power at the top of the order to mesh and mash with Vlad Guerrero Jr. and, ideally, a renewed Bo Bichette.
The Jays reportedly had accelerated discussions with Santander over the weekend before agreeing on a five-year deal first reported by MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. The deal is contingent on Santander passing a physical with the team.
The power is obviously the biggest attraction for Santander, who had a career high with his 44 homers last season. He may have flaws, but Santander gives the Jays something they have been missing for the past two seasons — the ability to change a game with one swing of the bat.
He also has had some lethal moments against the Jays in his career.
In what has been a slow-moving off-season, not just for the Jays but for all of Major League Baseball, the signing is a big one for beleaguered Toronto general manager Ross Atkins, who has taken heat for falling short on a number of fronts.
That said, the Jays have improved their defence by adding Gold Glove second baseman Andres Giminez in a trade with Cleveland and found a potential closer to replace Jordan Romano by signing free agent Jeff Hoffman.
The term of the Santander deal is likely a premium the Jays had to pay to get him, but being desperate for offence, it became necessary.