The Blue Jays actually won a bidding war

The slugger, who signed earlier in the offseason for a five year, $92.5MM contract chose the Blue Jays after emphatically turning down a deal to return to the Baltimore Orioles.

TheOrioles had a offered the switch hitter a three year that he says wasn't close to what he wanted.

That seemed to be a recurring theme for the Orioleswho also lost Corbin Burnes to the Diamondbacks and Danny Coulombe to the Minnesota Twins.

After so much heartbreak over the last two off-seasons, it is refreshing to hear of a player actually choosing the Blue Jays.

It was an emotional day for Santander on Thursday as he faced his former team for the first time since signing with the Blue Jays, as his new team hosted his old one during a Spring Training matchup at TD Ballpark in Dunedin.

Originally a Rule 5 pick back in 2016,Santander broke out in 2022, hitting 33 home runs with a 122 wRC+. Then last year in 2024, he clubbed 44 home runs. That number was good enough for third place in the majors behind Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge.

The Blue Jays are counting on his bat to add some much needed power to what was an inconsistent line up last year.

In spite of everything with the Blue Jays over the last several months, it is good to know that somebody of Santanders caliber still values them as an institution.