Why Blue Jays' Anthony Santander is the worst contract in Toronto sports history

Toronto sports fans have seen their fair share of bad contracts over the years. From David Clarkson's seven-year, $36.75 million deal with the Maple Leafs to Hedo Turkoglu's five-year, $53 million contract with the Raptors.

Both contracts were bad, but neither comes close to the salary disaster the Toronto Blue Jays face with outfielder Anthony Santander.

When the Blue Jays signed Santander to a five-year, $92.5 million contract following a 2024 MLB season where he terrorized the AL East with 44 home runs for the Baltimore Orioles, the signing was, at the time, viewed by many around Toronto as the team's awaited breakthrough when it came to making an off-season free agent splash.

Fast-forward two years, and Santander has nothing to show for it except six home runs and 34 hits in 54 games, while collecting a $30 million paycheque between those injury-plagued seasons.

That works out to roughly $900,000 per hit and exactly $5 million per home run. If you're wanting plate stats, it's more than $154,000 per at-bat.

Santander has missed a total of 270 games over the past two seasons due to a shoulder injury, and has been rendered borderline unplayable after he reshared Islamophobic posts on Instagram.

Since signing with Toronto in January 2025, Anthony Santander has played in just 54 of 324 regular season games. (John E. Sokolowski/Imagn Images)

Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins said he recently spoke with Santander and told the former All-Star that he needs to apologize, something he has yet to do.

The financial structure of Santander's contract makes this entire situation even worse. The entire $92.5 million deal is also guaranteed, meaning the Blue Jays still owe him $62.5 million over the next three seasons, regardless of whether he plays or not.

Santander also has all the control in the five-year deal. He has a player option following the 2027 season, which he'd be foolish not to exercise at this point, considering he would get significantly less if he opted for free agency.

And unlike the NHL, the MLB doesn't have a buyout option where a team can terminate a contract and reduce the amount they owe to a player.

The earliest Toronto would be able to get rid of him without paying the full amount he's owed isn't until the end of the 2029 season. Then, the Blue Jays could potentially decline his club option and pay a $5 million buyout and save $10 million.

Tony Taters to Toronto 🇨🇦 OFFICIAL: We've signed All-Star and Silver Slugger Anthony Santander to a five-year contract! https://t.co/gEtNuP3ZAj

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) January 21, 2025

So what exactly are Toronto's options?

Unlike previous controversies involving Toronto players and their social media activity, Santander is tied to a far more lucrative long-term contract.

The Blue Jays front office can't simply just bite the bullet and release him without a large financial consequence, as they'd still be responsible for the remaining guaranteed money on his deal.

And even though Santander's posts violated Sections 7 and 8 of the MLB's Social Media Policy for players in uniform, a contract cannot be voided or terminated on those terms.

The only other option, besides releasing him, would be trading him, assuming there was another club willing to take him.

The problem there is that Santander's value has disintegrated in the wake of his injury-prone history and now with newfound concerns around his personal views it could further diminish interest from other teams.

If Toronto were to move him, the team would likely have to eat a substantial portion of his remaining salary, probably a third or more, just to convince another team to take on the contract.

They also wouldn't get much back in return given that Santander's shown next to nothing over the past year, except for five games in Triple-A where he hit .235 in 17 at-bats.

The bottom line here is that Santander's contract is horrible, and right now the problem for the Blue Jays is that he's just far too expensive to let go for nothing.

The clock is now ticking; if Santander chooses not to apologize before the start of the 2027 season, he gives the Blue Jays front office no option but to bite that $52.5 million bullet and cut him loose.