The Baltimore Orioles are entering an offseason where cash may be at a premium following back-to-back early playoff exits and two of their best players hitting the open market with teams that will be lined up to pay them.
Baltimore is staring down the prospect of losing one of, if not both former Cy Young starter Corbin Burnes and 40+ home run hitting outfielder Anthony Santander. Chances are, the team is not going to be able to retain both and general manager Mike Elias will have to decide which player he values more if ownership prevents him from opening the money spigot.
If Elias does in fact decide that Burnes’ top of the rotation capability is more important than Santander’s mashing ability, Christopher Kline of FanSided thinks that the latter could end up playing for the Houston Astros in 2025.
“The Astros can’t count on Jason Heyward sticking around or being very productive next season, so outfield depth is an immediate priority,” Kline wrote. “Santander is set-and-forget quality opposite Kyle Tucker, who would presumably move to left field. He’s not exactly a Gold Glove candidate, but Santander can hold down the fort as a corner outfielder while bringing an immense boost to Houston’s offensive profile.”
Allowing Santander to walk would certainly be a massive roll of the dice for a team in Baltimore that is obviously looking to contend within the American League. If the slugger were to end up in Houston, it would be a tough pill to swallow given that in order to reach where the team desires to go, it’s entirely likely that they will have to go through an Astros team who prior to this year’s playoffs had been to seven straight ALCS.
Santander is coming off the best season of his storied Orioles career. The right fielder set new career highs in home runs and RBIs as well as his highest slugging percentage, OPS, and OPS+ in a full length season. You can’t simply replace 44 home runs and over 100 RBIs in a lineup, but the argument can be made that it’s just as hard if not harder to replace a legitimate ace that is good for 30 starts and an ERA below 3.0.
Not to mention the fact that the team gave up prospects to acquire Burnes, which should make it more of a priority to keep him for the long haul. Santander has spent his entire 8-year career with Baltimore and has improved yearly, but if it comes down to one or the other, Baltimore likely will choose Burnes. However, if Santander does sign a deal with the Astros, the team must be prepared to deal with the ramifications.
