Angels Offered Anthony Santander Short-Term Contract Prior to Blue Jays Deal

Anthony Santander held out for months in free agency, ultimately scoring a lucrative five-year deal from the Toronto Blue Jays in January.

While he was biding his time on the open market, though, there was buzz that maybe Santander would pivot to seeking a short-term deal in order to find a new home. Reports surfaced last week that the Kansas City Royals had extended a three-year offer to the All-Star slugger before he landed with the Blue Jays.

But according to the Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, the Royals weren't the only team that made a similar push for Santander.

The Los Angeles Angels, previously considered to be one of the favorites to sign Santander, apparently proposed three-year and four-year contracts during negotiations.

Due to the deferred money in Santander's deal with the Blue Jays, the average annual present day value of his contract is roughly $14 million. Per Rosenthal, Santander would have "at least" approached that number with either the Royals or Angels, even if the lack of a fifth year would have lessened the total dollar amount.

Santander, 30, hit .235 with 44 home runs, 102 RBI, an .814 OPS and a 2.9 WAR in 2024. The longtime Baltimore Orioles standout ranks No. 7 in the American League with 154 home runs since the start of the 2019 campaign.

The Angels were active in the early days of the offseason, trading for Jorge Soler before signing Kyle Hendricks, Travis d'Arnaud, Kevin Newman and Yusei Kikuchi. And although they haven't done much since, the front office is still actively looking for a veteran reliever.

Los Angeles could be in the market for another power hitter, too, considering how serious they were about adding Santander as recently as a few weeks ago.