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The Toronto Blue Jays finally had a bit of good fortune go their way this offseason. After missing out on countless free agent targets this winter, the Blue Jays came to terms with outfielder Anthony Santander on a five-year, $92.5 million deal.
The devil is in the details, as they say, and it would appear that the Blue Jays are taking a page out of the Los Angeles Dodgers playbook. Santander's new contract is heavily deferred, which brings the deal closer to $70 million in terms of present day value. In other words, Blue Jays fans can think of this deal as having an average annual value (AAV) of $14 million rather than $18.5 million.
Full details of Anthony Santander's contract set up Blue Jays for other impact moves
Why the players are fully onboard with the idea of deferring contracts is anyone's guess, but it definitely helps the Blue Jays in the interim. Santander's contract essentially frees up an extra $4.5 million that wouldn't have been there if the new Jays' slugger signed a balanced contract.
Santander received a $13.5 million signing bonus, and over the life of the contract will be paid $13.5 million (2025), $16.5 million (2026), $16.5 million (2027), $14.75 million (2028), and $12.75 million (2029). Santander's deal also has a $15 million club option for 2030 with a $5 million buyout. But remember, all these figures are deferred, and in total, Santander's deal contains over $60 million in deferred payments.
Blue Jays' deal with Anthony Santander includes heavy deferrals per source.
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) January 20, 2025
Year by year breakdown is slightly frontloaded, but there are heavy deferrals for the duration of the deal.
The Blue Jays were always ready to spend money this offseason, but no one seemed to want to take it. Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes, and others repeatedly turned down opportunities to get paid by Toronto. But the extra cash flow provided based on Santander's deferred deal will allow Toronto to spend even more on free agent targets like Max Scherzer and Pete Alonso.
With Santander in the fold, and his contract allowing for more free agent spending, the Blue Jays may be able to make a late-surge, and surprisingly rally to be one of the big winners this offseason.