Where does Blue Jays' Anthony Santander signing rank among Ross Atkins' best moves?

Anthony Santander is a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, and we should give credit where credit is due. Jays General Manger Ross Atkins needed to make a move like this, and he did so with a sneaky bit of financial wizardry. He got Santander to sign on the dotted line for $92.5 million over five years, but with an impressive amount of that money being deferred each season.

Even though, as one insider has already pointed out, it is a move that could backfire, Santander currently projects to make the Blue Jays a much better team at the onset of the 2025 season. If Santander does go on to put up big power numbers in a Blue Jays lineup that needs it, this could end up being one of the best moves of Atkins' tenure as GM. As of this moment, where would it rank among some of the other good deals he’s made?

With the benefit of hindsight, lets go back and examine the moves Atkins has engineered that truly made the Blue Jays a better team.

Best moves of Ross Atkins' career as Blue Jays GM

Pitching helps the Blue Jays return to the playoffs:

Atkins made some impressive moves during his first trade deadline as GM in Toronto. Those moves included:

May 31, 2016: Blue Jays receive Jason Grilli from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Sean Ratcliffe.

July 26, 2016: Blue Jays receive Joaquin Benoit from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Drew Storen.

August 1, 2016: Blue Jays receive Francisco Liriano, Reese McGuire and Harold Ramirez from Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Drew Hutchison

Grilli and Benoit were instrumental in providing the Blue Jays with help in the bullpen. Grilli had a 118 ERA+ with 58 strikeouts in 42 innings pitched with the team. Benoit had a ridiculous ERA of 0.38 in 23.2 innings and held opposing hitters to a .205 batting average. They combined for a 2.0 WAR.

Liriano, at 32 years old, pitched like he was 22 all over again. In eight starts, Liriano was excellent, holding batters to a .288 OBP with a 25% strikeout rate, and allowing more than two earned runs just twice, pitching 6+ innings in six of those games. Atkins gave up Hutchison, who was not good with the Pirates, throwing just 11 innings with an ERA of 5.56 in the 'Burgh.

The fact that Atkins managed to also pry McGuire and Ramirez out of Pittsburgh’s system was an absolute steal at the time. McGuire was ranked as the Pirates' No. 8 prospect, while Ramirez was ranked ninth.

Landing Teo

July 31, 2017: Toronto Blue Jays receive Nori Aoki and Teoscar Hernández from Houston Astros in exchange for Francisco Liriano.

Liriano couldn’t replicate his success in his second season with Toronto, ending up with a 5.88 ERA in 82.2 innings pitched. He was going to be a free agent at the end of the season, and the Blue Jays dealt the veteran lefty to the Houston Astros rather than waiting around, receiving outfielders Hernández and Aoki.

Toronto only had Aoki for 12 games before designating him for assignment, but in Hernández, they had a 24-year-old who had plenty of potential. That potential blossomed after a few years and, in total, Hernández went on to hit 129 home runs, have an OPS of .808 and an cumulative WAR of 10.6 with the Jays.

2020 Trade Deadline sets up for future Cy Young Award winner

On Aug. 27, 2020, the Blue Jays received Taijuan Walker from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for minor leaguer Alberto Rodriguez.

A few days later, on Aug. 31, 2020, the Jays received Robbie Ray from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Travis Bergen.

Walker gave up just four runs in his 26.1 innings as a Blue Jay, and the team won five of the six games he started. He struck out 25 batters and walked none. It helped the Blue Jays down the stretch during the COVID-19 pandemic season, allowing them to secure one of the Wild Card spots in the expanded postseason. Atkins gave up a minor leaguer in Rodriguez who has yet to play above Double-A.

Ray was just ok in the Blue Jays rotation to end the year. There were mixed feelings when Atkins re-signed him for $8 million going into the 2021 season, but those were quickly dispelled.

Ray went on to win the Cy Young Award, leading the league in pitching WAR (6.9), ERA (2.84), innings pitched (193.1), strikeouts (248), ERA+ (157), and WHIP (1.045). On a list of the highest-paid pitchers that season, Ray was listed 46th, proving the Blue Jays received an incredible amount of value for their dollar.  

Bringing in an All-Star and an ace

 Between the offseason and the trade deadline in 2021, Atkins may have made his two best moves as a GM. On Jan. 30, 2021, the Blue Jays signed Marcus Semien to a one-year, $18 million deal, and on July 30, 2021, the Jays received Jose Berrios from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for Austin Martin and Simeon Woods-Richardson.

Semien, in his only season with the Blue Jays, had a monster year. With a 7.1 WAR, he set a career high with 45 home runs (which is also the league record for second basemen). He had a 131 OPS+ and won a Silver Slugger. He moved over to second base to allow Bo Bichette to continue to develop as a shortstop and it paid off, as the duo was by far one of the best up-the-middle-combos in Blue Jays history. Semien also won his first (and to date) only Gold Glove award and finished third in MVP voting.

Jose Berrios was a 27-year-old ace who not only came over for the stretch run in 2021, but then signed a seven-year deal thereafter. That is a tremendous bit of business. In his first 12 games, Berrios struck out 78 hitters in 70.1 innings pitched with a 125 ERA+, holding opponents to a .238/.289/.405 slash line and striking out 26.8% of hitters. Berrios wasn’t good in 2022, but has bounced back to his true self in 2023 (winning a Gold Glove) and 2024 (accumulating a 4.6 WAR).

Martin and Woods-Richardson could still develop into big league players and maybe even All-Stars, but in the middle of a playoff race, these are the kinds of moves you want your team to make, when necessary, to give them a chance to get into the postseason.

Gausman and Chapman come north

On Dec. 1, 2021, the Blue Jays signed Kevin Gausman to a five-year, $110 million deal, and on March 16, 2022, the Blue Jays received Matt Chapman from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Zach Logue, Gunnar Hoglund, Kirby Sneed and Kevin Smith.

Gausman has been terrific for the Blue Jays throughout his tenure. He led the league in strikeouts in 2023 with 237, as well as SO/9 with 11.5. He was also tops in FIP in 2022 with 2.38 and SO/BB rate at 7.32. He was a top-ten Cy Young Award vote-getter in 2022, and finished third in the voting in 2023. The Blue Jays got everything they’ve needed and could have wanted out of Gausman through the first three years of the deal.

In two years with Toronto, Chapman accumulated an 8.0 WAR, most of which came through his defense, winning a Gold Glove award in 2023. At the plate, he still provided a .327 OBP and 112 OPS+ with a combined 44 home runs. Getting an elite defensive infielder who had a lot of upside potential  with his bat in exchange for four guys who haven’t made an impact at the major league level thus far has to be considered a win.

It's hard to judge the Santander signing against these moves at this point, since he has yet to play a game in Toronto. In terms of matching a skill set with a need, though, Atkins getting Santander is on par with re-signing Ray or Semien, based on the potential impact those players could and did have with Toronto.