Blue Jays' Anthony Santander Says There Was 'Zero Chance' He Returned to Orioles

Anthony Santander spent the first eight years of his MLB career with the Baltimore Orioles, finally making an All-Star appearance and winning a Silver Slugger in 2024.

The familiarity and upward trajectory weren't enough to force Orioles general manager Mike Elias to extend himself for Santander, though, and the club let the 30-year-old outfielder walk when he hit free agency last fall.

The Toronto Blue Jays wound up adding Santander on a five-year, $92.5 million contract in January, poaching the slugger from their division rival. Santander is now slated to face his former team 13 times a season for the remainder of the decade.

Santander got his first taste of that Thursday, when the Blue Jays hosted the Orioles for a spring training showdown at TD Ballpark. He went 1-for-4 at the plate, notching a single in the bottom of the seventh, as Toronto went on to win 6-4.

After the game, Santander was asked if he thought there was a real chance he was going to stay in Baltimore.

"Nah, zero chance, zero chance at all," Santander said. "They make an offer, but it wasn't even close. We get it, we understand, it's a business side. Mike (Elias) is really smart about it, we're smart about it too. So you have to be patient and Toronto just gave me the opportunity."