Of course I'm going to share Juan Soto in a Cubs hat photoshops on Twitter when free agency officially begins, but I know the deal here. Jed Hoyer isn't going to shell out the biggest contract in MLB history or maybe second biggest because the Ricketts aren't going to say sure, go for it.
Sucks, really does. I wish that wasn't the case, but as a fan that also doesn't mean you stop caring because there are actually other players worth caring about. That brings us to switch-hitting slugger Anthony Santander, who no is not a future hall of famer, but is still pretty damn good at mashing baseballs. And hey, guess what the Cubs desperately need in their lineup? Someone, anyone, who is a legit home run threat every time they're up at the plate.
Santander will be a free agent following the 2024 season and his name is already being brought up by local beat writers as a name to watch for the Cubs in the offseason. The likelihood of the Cubs pursuing Santander will dramatically increase if Cody Bellinger ends up opting out says The Athletic's Sahadev Sharma.
Via The Athletic.
target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Anthony Santander could be one alternative, especially if Cody Bellinger opts out of his contract. Santander, who will turn 30 in October, is a middle-of-the-lineup switch hitter who might fit one of those contract structures preferred by the Cubs, a medium-term deal with a higher average annual value that doesn’t overly restrict the club’s future options.
Sahadev characterized Santander as a "name to file away" when it comes to thinking about who the Cubs will seek out in free agency to add to their lineup. So far in 2024, Santander is making a strong case to become a very popular free agent across MLB as the switch-hitter is currently thriving in the middle of the Baltimore Orioles' lineup.
Santander has already set a new career high in home runs, blasting 38 long balls in 126 games. His previous high mark for a single season came in 2022, when he hit 33 homers in 152 games. He made his MLB debut in his age-22 season in 2017, but didn't become a regular in the starting lineup until the 2021 season, when Santander homered 18 times in 110 games. That followed the COVID-shortened 2020 season in which he left the yard 11 times in 37 games.
Santander has power from both sides of the plate, posting nearly identical slugging % as a righty (.469 slug %) and lefty (.470 slug %). Wouldn't it be nice to have a 30+ HR threat on the Cubs again? Kyle Schwarber hit 38 home runs with the Cubs in 2019 and he's the last player on the team to eclipse the 30-homer mark in a season.
In 539 plate appearances with the Orioles this year Santander is slashing .235/.302/.519, with a 7.8 BB% and 19.5 K%. No, he's not going to hit for average, he's a career .246 hitter, but he's exactly the type of hitter the Cubs need. A dude who crushes baseballs out of the yard.
And as much as I'm emphasizing his 2024 season, Santander has been one of the best power hitters in the game since the beginning of 2022. In the past three years he's hit 99 home runs, which is tied with Juan Soto for 7th most among all MLB hitters during that time period.
This is the type of consistent power and offensive production that the Cubs have been lacking.
2022: 33 HR, 122 wRC+
2023: 28 HR, 119 wRC+
2024: 38 HR, 129 wRC+
Santander can slot into the DH role, he can play right field and he can hopefully continue his home-run hitting ways if the Cubs end up signing him this upcoming offseason.
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