Good morning, Camden Chatters.
It’s the end of an era in Birdland. Anthony Santander, the Orioles’ longest tenured player, is an Oriole no more, though the O’s will still be seeing plenty of him. Santander has reportedly agreed to a five-year, $92.5 million deal with the AL East rival Toronto Blue Jays.
Regardless of whether you wanted the O’s to re-sign Santander at that price tag, it’s sad to see him go. He’s been around for what feels like forever, debuting in 2017 during the Dan Duquette/Buck Showalter regime, and has been an everyday fixture in the Birds’ lineup for the last half-decade. He was an Oriole during the worst of times and made it out the other side, progressing from a raw Rule 5 draftee into a fearsome slugger for back-to-back O’s playoff teams. Santander was the Orioles’ second-best Rule 5 pick ever (behind only Paul Blair) and one of the best in recent MLB history. He finishes his Baltimore career with 155 home runs, 13th most of any Oriole.
Along the way, he provided no shortage of memorable moments in black and orange, but one from the 2024 season particularly stands out for me: Aug. 23 against the Astros at Camden Yards. The moribund Orioles had lost five of their last seven games and were well on their way to another defeat, trailing by three runs in the eighth. The O’s desperately needed a spark. Orioles fans desperately needed something to cheer for.
And then: it happened. The O’s loaded the bases and Anthony unloaded them with one mighty swing, instantly reversing the Birds’ fortunes, bringing the crowd to hysterics, and securing a much-needed Orioles win. As I wrote the next morning, Slam-tander pulled the Orioles out of the abyss. It was just one of many times that he came up big when the O’s needed it most.
It was clear when the O’s signed Tyler O’Neill in December that the club was planning to move on from Santander. It took him a while to find a new home, but now he’s gotten his well deserved money from the Jays. The O’s will start the 2025 season with a four-game series in Toronto, so there’s a strong chance that Santander’s first home run as a Blue Jay will come at the expense of his former club. Maybe even on Opening Day. Anthony can feel free to hit as many homers as he wants in that series, as long as the Orioles still win every game.
So long, Anthony. And thanks for all the taters.
Links
Latest review of Orioles’ roster and wondering about Scott – School of Roch
When I watched Tanner Scott pitch for the Orioles, I must say I never expected he would one day sign a four-year, $72 million free agent contract. Good for him. Roch Kubatko notes that the O’s were interested in a reunion before the Dodgers blew them away with their offer.
Top third base prospects for 2025 – MLB.com
MLB Pipeline ranks Coby Mayo as the best third base prospect in baseball. Not too shabby for a guy who might not actually be a third baseman.
Orioles’ bullpen roles for 2025 – BaltimoreBaseball.com
On paper, the Orioles’ bullpen looks stronger than it has in a couple of years. Doesn’t mean I still won’t be a nervous wreck whenever they’re trying to hold a slim lead, though.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Four ex-Orioles have Jan. 21 birthdays, including the late Johnny Oates (b. 1946, d. 2004), who both played for and managed the club. Others born on this day were right-handers Keith Shepherd (57) and Bob Reynolds (78), and the late outfielder Sam Mele (b. 1922, d. 2017) of the inaugural 1954 Orioles.
On this date in 2016, the Orioles … (sigh) … re-signed Chris Davis to a seven-year, $161 million contract, the largest in franchise history. It, uh, seemed like a good idea at the time. Davis was coming off of a league-leading 47-homer season and was just two years removed from an Orioles record 53-dinger campaign. Out of respect for Davis, I will not discuss what happened after that.
