By james art 
The Baltimore Orioles will face a harsh reality in the coming days as there is a real chance that Anthony Santander will sign with another team at the start of free agency.
The switch hitter has been one of the best players in baseball over the past few seasons, putting together a career campaign in 2024.
On the one hand, it’s almost a shame the Orioles had to deal Santander, who was playing as well as he was. Sure, they always want their guys to produce, but his price looks a lot different now than it did just 12 months ago.
If this was 12 months ago, it’s almost safe to say Baltimore would have brought him back.
Unfortunately, that was not the case and the Orioles will have to pay the price for it.
That doesn’t mean the killer won’t be back, but it doesn’t seem too likely from the sounds of things. He will have plenty of suitors as every team in Major League Baseball will be looking for a hitter who does what he does.
It’s not every winter that a player with his type of power as a striker is available, making him one of the most sought after players on the market. In fact, many called him the most underrated striker.
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com listed several potential candidates for him, including St. Louis Cardinals. He added that Santander is unlikely to return to Baltimore.
“Santander has been a solid player for a few years, but he picked the right time to have the best season of his career. Making his first All-Star appearance this year, Santander set career highs with 44 home runs and 102 RBI, while his . The 814 OPS was his highest in a 162-game season, however destined for the Orioles, Santander will likely end up elsewhere as Baltimore has a wealth of young outfield talent and a number of clubs will be looking for power hitters. outfielder.”
They should be careful in this situation.
Sure, they have a few young guys who could emerge and potentially fill that role, but that would be a big ask.
Even if they believe it will eventually happen, as they’ve seen with some of their young players recently, it’s almost impossible to ask them to come out and perform at the level they need to.
At some point, the Orioles have to take a different approach. Having star prospects is never a bad thing, but they’ve seen firsthand why it’s hard to win in the playoffs because of them.
Veterans often give more and that’s why re-signing with Santander is important.