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Anthony Santander

Orioles Place Anthony Santander On Injured List

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The Orioles announced they’ve reinstated left-hander Bruce Zimmermann from the 60-day injured list. He’ll start this evening’s game against the Red Sox. They’ve also recalled corner infielder/outfielder Tyler Nevin from Triple-A Norfolk and placed right-hander Chris Ellis and outfielder Anthony Santander on the 10-day IL. To create space on the 40-man roster for Zimmermann, Baltimore transferred lefty Keegan Akin, who underwent abdominal surgery last week, from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Zimmermann is back after missing around two and a half months due to left biceps tendinitis. The 26-year-old appeared in twelve games (eleven starts) before going on the IL, tossing 59 2/3 innings of 4.83 ERA/4.48 SIERA ball. Zimmermann posted a below-average 20.2% strikeout rate and gave up nearly as much hard contact as any pitcher in baseball, but he pounded the strike zone and posted a ground-ball rate just a bit below the league average.

That’s not the most exciting production, but only John Means posted better numbers among O’s hurlers with 50+ innings this season. That looks to give Zimmermann a decent shot at landing a season-opening rotation spot next year, although the O’s front office will at least add a low-cost veteran option or two to that mix this offseason.

Santander’s season comes to a close a few days early because of a right knee sprain. The 26-year-old mashed in last year’s shortened campaign, but he couldn’t follow up on that over a larger body of work. Through 438 plate appearances, Santander hit .241/.286/.433. He hit for a decent amount of power for a third consecutive year, popping 18 home runs, but Santander’s tiny 5.3% walk rate and career-worst 23.1% strikeout percentage (excluding his 13-game rookie year) contributed to serious on-base issues.

This offseason, Santander will be eligible for arbitration for the second of four times. If tendered a contract, he’d be in line for a raise on this year’s $2.1MM salary. The Orioles have no guaranteed money on the books next season, so they could certainly shoulder a few million dollar tab for Santander. Still, that was true last offseason of Renato Nuñez — another low-OBP, power bat — and Baltimore elected to non-tender Nuñez. The front office will have to make a similar call on Santander this winter.

Orioles Place Two Players On COVID-19 Injured List

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The Orioles have placed outfielder Anthony Santander and left-hander Keegan Akin on the COVID-19 injured list. Outfielder Ryan McKenna and lefty Alexander Wells have been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to replace them on the active roster.

There’s no indication at this point that either of Santander or Akin has tested positive for COVID-19. Players can land on the IL for feeling symptoms or for viral exposure. The COVID-19 IL does not come with a minimum stint.

Santander has gotten the bulk of playing time this season in right field. He’s hitting .231/.280/.387 across 247 plate appearances, a drop-off from last year’s strong .261/.315/.575 line. Akin, meanwhile, has made thirteen appearances (including eight starts) this year. He’s tossed 48 1/3 innings of 8.19 ERA/4.62 SIERA ball. The southpaw had been the projected starter for this afternoon’s game against the Rays. Wells will take the ball instead.

Orioles Activate Anthony Santander From Injured List

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1:56PM: The Orioles have officially reinstated Santander from the injured list.

8:16AM: Anthony Santander is set to make his return to the Orioles lineup, as manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko) that Santander will be activated from the injured list prior to today’s game with the Nationals.  Outfielder Ryan McKenna was optioned to Triple-A yesterday, so a place is open for Santander on the active roster.

Santander hit the 10-day IL on April 21 due to a sprained ankle, so he’ll get back to action after exactly one lost month.  The injury only added to an overall rough start for Santander, who has a .196/.230/.321 slash line and two home runs over his first 62 plate appearances.

It was a far cry from the impressive numbers posted by Santander in 2020, when he hit .261/.315/.575 with 11 home runs in 165 PA before an oblique injury ended his season in early September.  Should Santander get back to that level of production, it will give Baltimore a pretty nice starting outfield combination given that Cedric Mullins and Austin Hays are both hitting well.  A return to form would also certainly revive trade interest in Santander, and though he is controlled through the 2024 season, a trade prior to the July 30 deadline can’t be entirely ruled out if the rebuilding Orioles got a tempting offer.

Anthony Santander Out Two To Four Weeks

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11:21am: The team has now announced that Santander is on the 10-day injured list. McKenna has indeed been recalled to take his spot on the 26-man roster.

10:50am: Orioles slugger Anthony Santander will miss the next two to four weeks of action after sustaining a sprained ankle, manager Brandon Hyde announced to reporters this morning (Twitter link via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com). X-rays and an MRI both confirmed that there is no fracture in Santander’s ankle. A corresponding roster move is in the works, per Hyde. Santander injured the ankle last night when lunging back to first base on a pickoff attempt (video link).

Santander, 26, emerged as one of the Orioles’ best hitters from 2019-20 and was the subject of some trade inquiries over the winter. However, the O’s control him all the way through 2024 and clearly weren’t motivated to make a move based on any of those talks.

The switch-hitting Santander is out to a slow start in 2021, hitting just .196/.230/.321 in 62 plate appearances after missing some time late in Spring Training with an oblique issue. But from 2019-20, Santander delivered a .261/.302/.505 batting line with 31 dingers, 33 doubles and a pair of triples in 570 trips to the plate. A middling 5.1 percent walk rate in that time limits his on-base upside, but Santander also struck out in just 15.6 percent of his plate appearances last season.

Baltimore just welcomed outfielder Austin Hays back from the injured list yesterday, so he’ll effectively be replacing Santander in the everyday lineup moving forward. Hays and hot-hitting Cedric Mullins are both options at any of the three outfield spots, while Ryan Mountcastle and DJ Stewart can work in the corners and also mix in some at-bats as the designated hitter. Ryan McKenna, who was optioned yesterday after Hays was activated, could also quickly be brought back and added into the equation if the Orioles want to replenish some outfield depth.

AL Notes: Santander, Astros, Indians, Taillon, Yankees

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Anthony Santander isn’t in the Orioles lineup today, and it seems as if the outfielder will miss his fifth consecutive spring game.  Manager Brandon Hyde told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and other reporters that Santander has been bothered by a sore oblique, though Santander has still been working out and could potentially get back on the field as early as Monday.

Such a quick return would probably mean Santander is ready to roll for Opening Day, but the O’s are likely to be cautious considering that an oblique strain brought Santander’s 2020 season to an early end in September.  The injury cut short a breakout year for the 26-year-old, as Santander hit .261/.315/.575 with 11 homers in 165 plate appearances.

More from around the American League…

  • The Astros are looking for possible outfield or pitching additions as spring camps draw to a close, manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including Chandler Rome of The Houston Chronicle).  While every team keeps an eye on other clubs’ cuts or waiver moves at this time of year, the Astros may be more inclined than usual to make a move, given both some recent absences due to COVID concerns and the fact that outfield depth was already something of an issue.  Chas McCormick looks like the favorite for the fourth outfielder job, and Houston would have to make a 40-man move to include either Jose Siri or Bryan De La Cruz on the active roster.  None of this trio has any MLB experience, and starting center fielder Myles Straw could be facing some time on the COVID-related injury list.
  • Triston McKenzie, Cal Quantrill, and Logan Allen were all competing for the final two spots in the Indians’ rotation, and McKenzie and Allen have won the jobs, though their roles have yet to be specifically determined.  (The Athletic’s Zack Meisel was among those to report the news.)  McKenzie and Allen could be used in regular turns throughout the rotation, or the Tribe might use either in piggyback outings, or perhaps use an opener for an inning or two before giving way to McKenzie or Allen as the bulk pitcher.  Quantrill might factor into this situation as well, since Quantrill also made the roster and will work out of the bullpen.
  • Manager Aaron Boone announced the Yankees’ starting rotation for its first six games of the year, and Jameson Taillon won’t make his debut in the pinstripes until the sixth game.  The intent, as Boone told The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler (Twitter links) and other reporters, is to ease Taillon back into action after the righty missed the entire 2020 season recovering from his second Tommy John procedure.  New York will start Gerrit Cole in both the first and fifth games of the year thanks to an early off-day, with Corey Kluber, Domingo German, and Jordan Montgomery slated to take the mound in between Cole’s two outings.  The Yankees will also likely adopt a six-man rotation for at least part of April, Boone said.

2021 Arbitration Hearing Results & Post-Deadline Agreements

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January 15 was the deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players to officially submit salary figures for the 2021, and by the time the day was done, only 13 players didn’t reach agreement on a contract.  The majority of teams now adhere to the “file or trial” strategy, meaning that no further negotiations on a one-year deal will take place between the arbitration deadline and a hearing with an arbiter, which theoretically puts pressure on players to get a deal done if they are wary about taking their case to a third party.

“File and trial” tactics didn’t stop the Astros and Carlos Correa from agreeing to a one-year deal for just the 2021 season, which is also Correa’s last year before gaining free agent eligibility.  We also saw three multi-year deals reached, all from the greater Los Angeles area — the Dodgers reached two-year deals with Walker Buehler and Austin Barnes, while the Angels inked a two-year pact with Shohei Ohtani.

This left nine unresolved cases that went all the way to a hearing (held over Zoom) between an arbiter, the player, his representative(s), and front office personnel arguing the team’s side.  The teams won five of the nine hearings, continuing the very narrow edge teams have held over players in arb cases in recent years — over the last 99 arbitration hearings, teams hold a 51-48 record over players.

For the full list of every salary for every arbitration-eligible player this offseason, check out the MLB Trade Rumors Arb Tracker.  Sticking to the 13 players with unresolved cases from January 15, here’s the rundown…

Avoided Arbitration, One-Year Contract

Avoided Arbitration, Multi-Year Contract

Arbitration Hearings, Won By Player

Arbitration Hearings, Won By Team

Arbitration Hearing Decisions: J.D. Davis, Choi, Santander

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This year’s round of (virtual) arbitration hearings kicked off earlier this week. While a perhaps surprising number of players agreed to one-year deals to avoid arbitration last month rather than risk a hearing, we’ll still have a handful of cases heard by a three-person panel of arbitrators over the next couple of weeks. Some results from the first wave of hearings…

  • Mets third baseman/outfielder J.D. Davis lost his arbitration hearing and will earn $2.1MM in 2021 rather than the $2.475MM at which he filed, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has proven to be a good find for the now-former front office regime, hitting .288/.370/.483 with 28 homers and 31 doubles through 682 plate appearances since debuting with the Mets. Davis figures to see action at third base and perhaps in left field again in 2021, and he’ll be eligible for arbitration three more times due to his status as a Super Two player.
  • Rays first baseman Ji-Man Choi won an arbitration hearing against the club and will be paid $2.45MM in 2021, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (via Twitter). The team had filed for a $1.85MM salary. Choi, 29, has spent the past three seasons with the Rays, batting a combined .257/.359/.461 with 30 homers, 45 doubles and three triples in 821 trips to the plate. He slashed .230/.331/.410 in 42 games last year and is controllable through 2023. Choi was one of two outstanding arbitration cases for the Rays — the other being left-hander Ryan Yarbrough, whose trial has not yet taken place.
  • The Orioles won their arbitration hearing over outfielder Anthony Santander, tweets Feinsand. Santander, like Davis, filed at $2.475MM with his club countering at $2.1MM. He’ll earn the lesser of those two sums. The 26-year-old is a former Rule 5 pick who had a solid showing in 2019 before breaking out with a huge performance in 2020. This past season, Santander batted .261/.315/.575 with 11 homers and 13 doubles in just 165 plate appearances. On the whole, he’s given the O’s a .261/.302/.505 slash with 31 homers and 33 doubles in his past 570 plate appearances. There are some obvious OBP question marks, but the power has prompted teams to look at Santander as a possible trade option. He’s also a Super Two player and is controlled through 2024.

Orioles Notes: Marlins, Santander, Mancini, Deferrals, MASN

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The Marlins have had some trade discussions with the Orioles about outfielder Anthony Santander, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports (Twitter link).  The depth of these talks isn’t known, Kubatko notes, as it could have been due diligence on the Marlins’ part rather than a sign that Santander could be heading to Miami or anywhere.

Santander enjoyed something of a breakout performance during the abbreviated 2020 season, hitting .261/.315/.575 with 11 home runs over 165 plate appearances before an oblique injury ended his season on September 4.  A look at the advanced metrics reveals some interesting details, as Santander didn’t make much hard contact or take many walks, but he also didn’t get much batted-ball luck in the form of a .248 BABIP.

Still, between some strong right field defense and 31 homers in 570 PA since the start of the 2019 season, Santander has made himself a key part of Baltimore’s rebuilding effort.  He turned 26 last October and is controlled through the 2024 season, as Santander is a Super Two player and only became arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter.  (The two sides are scheduled for a hearing to determine Santander’s 2021 salary, with the outfielder looking for $2.475MM and the Orioles offering $2.1MM.)

This combination of talent and cost-effective team control would make Santander an attractive trade possibility for many teams, but particularly a Marlins club that is looking to both continue contending for the postseason without too much of a budget stretch.  The switch-hitting Santander would also help balance out a Miami lineup heavy on right-handed batters.  Garrett Cooper is currently slated to handle right field for the Marlins, but the team would have plenty of room to find at-bats for everyone if the DH returned to the National League in 2021.  Since Starling Marte and Corey Dickerson are both free agents after the season, Santander would also be a longer-term outfield addition that could fill the void if either player departed.

Whether the Orioles see Santander as a long-term piece is another intriguing element, as a case could be made that the O’s should try to sell high on Santander now (or perhaps before the 2021 trade deadline) if they don’t think he’ll still be a prime contributor by the time Baltimore is ready to contend.  Given that the Orioles still have a long ways to go in their rebuild, they might not be ready to compete by 2024, Santander’s age-29 season and his last under team control.

The Orioles’ financial situation adds another wrinkle, as The Athletic’s Dan Connelly reports that the team offered salary deferrals to Santander and Trey Mancini when talking to both players about their 2021 contracts.  Both turned down the offers, which would have seen around 25% of their salary pushed ahead to 2022 or 2023.  Mancini ended up avoiding arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $4.75MM deal.

Deferrals are a common element of contract negotiations, yet the idea of deferring money on a one-year arbitration contract was unheard of among “multiple agents and baseball arbitration experts…contacted for this story,” Connolly writes.  While the deferral offers could have just been some creativity on the part of GM Mike Elias, Connolly also wonders if the offers were indicative of how little the Orioles might have to spend in the wake of 2020’s revenue losses.  If this is the case, the O’s might look to try and deal Santander, perhaps attaching him to a larger contract (i.e. Alex Cobb and his $15MM salary) to clear as much money as possible off the books.

In other revenue news, The Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli reports that the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (owned by both the Orioles and the Nationals) has made significant cuts, including several prominent on-air personalities.  “This is a cash-flow problem, and there’s apparently not a lot of it,” a source said.  Changes include the reduction of the pre-game and post-game shows from 30 to 15 minutes, with the broadcasters at the ballpark handling these shows rather than studio hosts and analysts.  If the Orioles or Nationals want to continue the usual pre-game and post-game shows, MASN has informed the teams that they will have to fund them, rather than the network.

Trade/FA Notes: Santander, Profar, Bart, Yates, T. Williams

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Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander has drawn trade interest this winter, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. However, as Kubatko suggests, that doesn’t necessarily mean Santander will go anywhere. The 26-year-old is coming off a highly productive season in which he batted .261/.315/.575 (130 wRC+) with 11 home runs, and he’s not scheduled to become a free agent until after 2024. Santander will earn a projected $1.7MM to $3MM in arbitration next season. All of that makes Santander an appealing trade candidate, but the Orioles could simply retain him as a building block.

  • The Padres are still attempting to re-sign free-agent infielder/outfielder Jurickson Profar, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. The switch-hitting Profar, 27, spent last season with San Diego, where he batted .278/.343/.428 (111 wRC+) with seven home runs in 202 trips to the plate. Defensively, Profar divided most of his time between left field and second base. Tommy Pham and Jake Cronenworth are among the options for the Padres at those spots, but the team seems to believe it will be able to keep fitting Profar in if it re-signs him. MLBTR predicted at the start of the offseason that Profar would land a one-year, $7MM contract in free agency.
  • Clubs “routinely ask about” Giants catcher Joey Bart in trade talks, Rosenthal writes. The Giants are not actively attempting to move the 24-year-old, though, according to Rosenthal. Bart, the second overall pick in the 2018 draft, got off to a rough start in the majors last year with a .233/.288/.320 line, no home runs and 41 strikeouts against three walks in 111 plate appearances. However, Bart was dominant at the Double-A level the previous season. He or Patrick Bailey, the Giants’ first-round pick last summer, could end up as their answer at catcher when the iconic Buster Posey departs (potentially after next season).
  • The Twins were among the finalists for reliever Kirby Yates before he agreed to join the Blue Jays on Tuesday, Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News relays. It’s not surprising the Twins were in on one of the open market’s highest-profile relievers, as their bullpen has taken hits this offseason with Trevor May, Sergio Romo and Tyler Clippard getting to free agency. May signed with the Mets, though Romo and Clippard remain without contracts.
  • Former Mets general manager Jared Porter was part of negotiations for right-hander Trevor Williams before the team fired the executive Tuesday, per Mike Puma of the New York Post. It’s unclear if the Porter-less Mets will continue pursuing Williams, whom the Pirates designated for assignment in November, especially after acquiring fellow starter Joey Lucchesi from the Padres on Monday. Williams was a solid part of the Pirates’ rotation from 2017-18, but he struggled to a 5.60 ERA/5.01 SIERA in 201 innings and 37 appearances (all starts) between 2019-20.

Gold Glove Nominees Announced

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The 2020 Rawlings Glove Glove Award finalists have been released, with the Cubs netting the most nominations with seven. The Mets, Nationals, Phillies, Brewers, Rays, and Red Sox were shut out.

The awards for defensive prowess will be handed out based on defensive metrics alone this year, since managers and coaches weren’t able to see players outside their regional bubble. Moving to a metrics-based system, even for a year, certainly make for interesting television, especially since these awards can make an impact on arbitration cases. Considering the uncertainty of a 60-game season, awards could carry greater weight than usual in those proceedings, thought that’s just speculation. Without further ado, here are this year’s nominees:

AL Pitcher

NL Pitcher

AL Catcher

NL Catcher

AL First Base

NL First Base

AL Second Base

NL Second Base

AL Third Base

NL Third Base

AL Shortstop

NL Shortstop

AL Left Field

NL Left Field

AL Centerfield

NL Centerfield

AL Right Field

NL Right Field

Nicky Lopez of the Royals was originally left off the list, but he is in fact a nominee at second base, one of four nominations at the keystone in the American League. It’s the only position with four nominations.

There are a few other interesting things of note. Perennial candidates like Andrelton Simmons and Matt Chapman did not make the list this year due to shortened seasons, nor did last season’s Outs Above Average leader Victor Robles. Both Gurriel brothers earned nominations this year, with the younger Lourdes (LF) joining perennial candidate Yuli (1B).

There are also a couple of largely part-time players that made the cut, like Hoerner of the Cubs and Mendick for the White Sox. Neither was the everyday second baseman, but they did reach the inning minimum of 265 total defensive innings. They qualified at second because that’s where they played the most innings. Mendick, for example, registered just 226 innings at second, but with 27 innings at third and 15 at shortstop, he ended the year with 268 total defensive innings played.

Catchers required a minimum of 29 games, which is how we got a pair of White Sox catchers making the top-3. Pitchers had to throw a minimum of 50 innings.

The winners will be selected using the SABR Defensive Index and announced on November 3rd, per sabr.org.

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