Tony Taters: The Best Pending Free Agent You Didn't Know About
By: Jackson Westfall
Unless you live close to Baltimore or are a fan of a team in the AL East, Anthony Santander may be unfamiliar to you. He was an all star this year for the first time in his major league career. The Venezuelan has only been a starter for about four and a half years on an exciting young Baltimore team who look primed to make the postseason for the second year in a row after a short rebuild. He has been their veteran guy in the locker room and has been a good hitter over the last 3 seasons.
Santander, who is affectionately known as “Tony Taters”, has put up the best season of his career thus far, clubbing an impressive 38 home runs and sporting a .515 slugging percentage with a month left to go in the season. He is on pace for a 40 homer campaign, which would be significant not only because he is a pending free agent, but he would be only the eighth switch hitter to do so in MLB history. He would join a list of names such as Mickey Mantle (who did it four times), Lance Berkman (two times) and Chipper Jones as hitters to accomplish such a feat. Plus, his current pace of 47 homers gives him a chance at the 50 home run club as well, something only Mickey Mantle has accomplished as a switch hitter. Santander has also been almost equally excellent from both sides of the plate, a rarity with switch hitters. His slash line of .237/.300/520 against righties is nearly identical to his .222/.307/.504 clip against left handers.
This free agency class is star studded, but I think Santander will be a key player to watch. While he doesn't have some of the career accolades or pedigree like fellow power bats Juan Soto or Pete Alonso, he is a competent defender who will be in his prime at the age of 30 heading into next year, having shown improvement at the plate every year on the bigs. His only weaknesses are his lackluster speed and his low on-base percentage, but with the right club he could absolutely improve his plate discipline and still slug at the clip he has this season. Teams like the Guardians, Mariners, Phillies and even his current club Baltimore could use his veteran presence and ability to slot anywhere the lineup needs a power bat, due to his splits being good against both lefty and righty pitchers. He is also a better hitter away from Camden Yards, with an .851 OPS on the road compared to a .782 OPS at home. His home park is to blame with its notorious left field wall that was moved significantly back in 2022 and high right field wall to go with deep gaps that may have sapped some of his home run power. He would be a great pickup and a far cheaper power bat option than the likes of Soto or Alonso.
As we enter the final month, the playoff races remain tight and with Baltimore and the Yankees fighting for the division title; and Anthony Santander, while he isn't Aaron Judge or Juan Soto, is a huge factor in who will win the division.